Category — DVC

We’re officially moving into peak hurricane season. With a tropical storm forming off in the Atlantic, it’s a good idea to review your packing list if you’re planning on a Central Florida vacation over the next few months. Ponchos are an absolute must, but realize you will be getting wet, so comfortable walking shoes and clothes that dry quickly are advisable too.

If you are unlucky enough to be visiting Central Florida when a powerful storm arrives, be prepared to hunkerdown. Send someone out a day or two in advance to get some supplies as you might be stuck in your hotel room for 24-48 hours. A gallon of water per person, some glow sticks, and meals you can eat without cooking or refrigeration are good. Books and games to play would be good too. During the storm stay away from windows and don’t go outside. It may look safe, but its not.

Don’t fret too much about losing days in the parks. Over the past few years, the parks have been empty the day before and after the storm hits, so while you may lose a day, you get two days with the parks practically to yourself. Also, if you absolutely have to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom on your trip, make sure to visit before the storm hits. Due to the large amount of foilage and the extra care required for the animals, DAK is the slowest of the parks to reopen after a storm. Remember the cast members all endured the hurricane too. Some have come into work and left their families to deal with any clean up because a paycheck and health insurance is more important to them then repairing their home immediately. So enjoy the odd comradery that brings.

Disney World suffered a pretty much direct hit from a hurricane a few years ago and came out fine. Some of the hotels nearby, however, did not fare as well. So your mileage may vary depending on where you’re staying and where the storm hits.

If a named storm is on the way and you’ve scheduled your vacation for the exact same time should you reschedule? That’s a personal decision, but I think that as long as you’re prepared and stay safe indoors during the storm you don’t have much to worry about.

DisneyMania was invited to the DVC members preview of the new DVC preview center in the Chicago area Woodfield Mall. The "Disney Doorway to Dreams" store is essentially a big ad for the Disney Vacation Club. DisneyMania takes you inside, but unfortunately, perhaps due to restrictions, doesn’t provide any pictures of the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villa room mockups. He did score some great loot though. My wife would love a pair of those Mickey Ears for her collection.

For those unfamiliar with Disney Vacation Club, DVC is The Walt Disney Company’s take on vacation timeshares. You buy into a DVC resort, which becomes your home resort, for a one-time fee based on the number of points you want. Disney will help you finance that fee (although you might check with your credit union for a comparison loan). You then pay only yearly maintenance fees on your purchase. Your points go to making reservations at any of the Disney World properties (although obviously, it costs fewer points in the off season and if you stay at a DVC resort).

Unlike some timeshares your DVC membership will eventually expire. But there are also other benefits you don’t get with a regular timeshare, and the points are portable to other locations (including some Disney owned properties). If you’re a regular visitor to Walt Disney World and usually stay for 7 nights or longer at least three out of every four years at a moderate or deluxe resort then DVC membership might be for you.

If this interests you then I suggest you check out these DVC tips over on MouseSavers.

Kevin Yee is out with another scoop. This time he reveals some interesting details behind Disney’s next themed entertainment foray outside the theme parks. Location Based Entertainment (LBE) is the concept recently hyped by Jay Rasulo, worldwide head of Disney’s parks and resorts. It had Disney fans and city developers yearning to learn more and how they could get Disney to build in their local community.

Initial speculation was that LBE would take the form of a downtown hotel, shopping, and entertainment complex. The announcement led to a half-dozen or so mid-size cities exploding in rumors that ‘Disney is coming to town’ every time a new downtown development was announced. Turns out that Rasulo was thinking of something not quite so grand:

What if it were a hotel, an indoor water park, a shopping area, and an E-Ticket ride all bundled together and themed into one seamless region? Imagine Fort Wilderness, an indoor River Country, and a Splash Mountain all plopped down together and forming a contiguous themed environment. Or Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kali River Rapids and an Africa-themed indoor water park, again, of modest size and scope, but highly themed.

This may have you thinking of the Nickelodeon Family Suites hotel brand that sits just off Disney property on the 535. That hotel has already been the inspiration for the appearance of family suites at Disney’s value hotels (Pop Century The Legend Years is rumored to be getting a large number of them). It certainly appears to be similar to what Disney is working on.

But I think earlier inspiration can be found if you look out west. Remember when Las Vegas went through the ‘family friendly’ phase? (never more than a thin veneer, btw.) Well that expansion brought us Circus Circus Adventurepark, Treasure Island, New York-New York, and even Buffalo Bills. For all four hotels the primary attraction was the casino, but the dining and amusement attraction could be the make or break on the decision to stay at that hotel if you’re a family.

So how will Disney make this work without a casino? By locating the LBE complex near other existing destinations. Planning a trip to SeaWorld San Diego? Tack it on to your Disneyland Trip and stay with in Disney’s magical envelope at the Animal Kingdom themed hotel and water attraction. Galveston Texas? Enjoy Disney’s Rocky Mountain Adventure. Conventioneer? Stay with Disney and bring your family along. Come to think of it, there was just a rumor that a Las Vegas strip hotel would soon be built with no casino… Disney?

There is a larger challenge when you head north and encounter harsher winters. The water park and attraction will likely have to be climate controlled. But that’s not outside the range of technology today (as Kevin points out with an interesting example). Imagine a Jacksonville, CO Wilderness Lodge resort with an indoor waterpark and hot springs.

Speaking of Jacksonville, these LBEs will also be natural tie-ins to the new "Adventures by Disney" brand. The perfect home base for all sorts of adventure type operations.

By locating a different attraction at each hotel, by making sure each location features a unique theme, Disney could create a quest for the brand’s rabid fans (like me!). Who has stayed at every hotel, experienced every ride? Disney’s Passport to Adventure club. The quality and attention to detail that Walt Disney’s Imagineers are so famous for will drive a whole new level of resort and theme entertainment.

One worry is that this would siphon off visitors from Disney’s theme parks and resorts. Why spend money on airfare or gas when you can go to the local Disney branded LBE. Of course, they were worried about this with DisneyQuest and DisneyClub. Two of Disney’s previous attempts at LBE.

I prefer to think that the market for Disney’s brand is so large that people who visit their local LBE for a short vacation or convention will continue to visit Walt Disney World or Disneyland for the families extended holiday. I’m sure that’s what Disney is hoping too.

Blue Sky Disney has a few thoughts and insights about Kevin’s column tool.

(Read)

This is what you see as you squeeze into what remains of the boardwalk area of DCA, the makings of the new attraction.

It makes me all tingly inside.

We rode the submarines last week.  They were a lot of fun.  The ride lasts about 12 minutes or so, which is nice.  The line lasts about 4 hours, without shade.  That’s not so nice.

Luckily we were admitted an hour early per Disney’s policy of letting hotel guests in prior to opening (3-4 days a week).  Thanks to that I was able to stand in a huge line with every other hotel guests outside the park gates and then walk briskly to the subs to stake my claim while my family strolled aimlessly down Main Street.

Due to my mad speed-walking skills we only had to stand in the actual submarine queue a little over an hour.  It was worth it.

The ride is what you want it to be.   Get there fast, and get there early. 

This is what my Sunday L.A. Times came wrapped in:

Enjoy the ride!

Thomas S. Mulligan reports in the Los Angeles Times that…

Nickelodeon is teaming up with Marriott International Inc. on a chain of kid-friendly resort hotels that will feature elaborate water parks and live entertainment from SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and other stars of the cable TV channel.

Look’s like Walt’s revolution continues.

The first hotel, set to break ground in January and open in early 2010, will be a 650-room facility with a 100,000-square-foot water park in San Diego’s Liberty Station, former home of the Naval Training Center, Viacom Inc., which owns Nickelodeon, and Marriott said Thursday.

They said they expected to build 20 hotels in the United States and abroad by 2020.

For Nickelodeon, it’s a chance to extend its brands deeper into the resort industry, a process started two years ago with the opening of an Orlando, Fla., hotel, Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn.

San Diego is smart.  They are close to Busch’s Sea World, the San Diego Zoo/Wild Animal Park, and not too far from Legoland.

Remember the trial balloons a few months ago about Disney doing this sort of thing by dotting the country with developments that would be much smaller than full-blown theme park developments?  I could see Disney partnering with an established hotel chain, maybe even acquiring one.  After all, Disney currently operates Resort hotels of its own, and Disney has swapped executives with hotel chains.  The important thing about any "location-based entertainment" development would be avoiding the same fates as Disney’s previous forays, such as DisneyQuest, Club Disney, Mickey’s Kitchen, and even The Disney Stores.  I could see something such as a hotel with Disney Vacation Club units, themed pools, a World of Disney store, an ESPNZone, maybe a multiplex cinema, a studio for the local ABC television station and radio stations, and, of course, an area pushing Disney vacation packages to the destination Resorts.  Adventures by Disney and a broadway-style performance venue would be nice, too.

Walt Disney World has announced that all rooms, including all of the Disney Vacation Club resorts, will be non-smoking by June.

To be honest, I just assumed they already were.  The rooms out here at
all three (3) of the Disneyland Resort Hotels have been smoke-free for
some time.

Disney uses AAA has an example and provides statistics showing that hotels across the nation are changing their rules due to overwhelming requests from travelers for healthy-living options, namely smoke-free environments.

The term "room" includes patios and balconies.  The hotels and resorts will all offer designated outdoor smoking areas.

Guests that choose to ignore the rule will be charged a room-recovery fee.  The fee will cover the costs of cleaning or replacing air filters, carpet, linens and drapes.

You will also be given very nasty looks by the Concierge.  I made that part up.