Mary's Magical Meanderings?

Good grief that doesn't sound very appealing...

I'm thinking that my original title for this blog was just too cutesy and I need something different.  Got any ideas?

I'm currently working on maryalbright.com (nothing much there yet, so don't meander over there until there's something worth looking at.) and I might see if I can re-direct this blog over there OR maybe export the content and start with a fresh URL.

I can't just do news all the time...I guess I haven't as my trip reports are interspersed between news and gossip discussion.

So, please comment here, on Facebook or Twitter or even send me an email.

How should I re-brand this blog?

Thanks for your input!

This Week: The Disney Dream, Fantasyland Updates, Star Wars 2.0 News

Lots of great news came out this week and boy, it's been fun to read!  Especially since before a couple of days ago, Minnesota was really living up to its "Great White North" nickname in terms of cold!  It's been a bear of a winter this year.  We've had a boatload of snow (love it) and some serious Arctic cold for a while (hate it).

Disney Dream Takes Its Maiden Voyage!


Last week, the Dream did a two-day media preview, but this week it left on the "official" Maiden Voyage.  So far, I'm seriously impressed with all the stuff I'm seeing.  And that's saying something, because I'm not a fan of cruising.  I'm sooooo not in love with being stuck on a boat, even though I know there's supposed to be tons to do.  And I'm not a sit-by-the-pool-and-read type.  I'm a get-in-the-pool-and-swim type and I know that the pools on ships are teeny-tiny.

But I'm digressing...Anyway...I'm really thinking that I could handle a 5-Day Double-Dip on the Dream for next Spring Break.  I'd have to get 2 cabins (ouch) because the last cruise we did, my son was all upset to hear his parents snoring!  So I'm thinking that I'd get an inside cabin and a verandah cabin across the hall from each other. We'll have to see if I can talk the lone holdout into giving it a shot.


Fantasyland Update

So Disney announced a ton of Fantasyland updates to its current expansion.

I'm all about the food so I was pleased as punch to see a snippet on the Be Our Guest Restaurant that will be in the "mysterious" West Wing of the Beast's Castle.  Here's what Disney had to say about it:

Set in the halls of the Beast's Castle, this location will seat up to 550 guests and offer "great food fast" service by day and be full table service in the evening.


Sounds pretty exciting to me!  Not your usual fast food, but maybe a step up from that.  And I'm just dying to see what the menu looks like!

I'm also very intrigued by the re-imagining of Snow White's Scary Adventures as it becomes the Seven Dwarves Mine Ride.  The ride vehicle is supposed to be state-of-the-art and able to swing side to side to the fun music as you visit the mine!  Sounds like fun!

Star Wars 2.0 and Star Wars Weekends

Meg Crofton announced that Star Tours will open in 3D on May 20, 2011, which will also be the first Star Wars Weekend of this year.

There are usually four weekends, so if that pattern holds, the following should be the Star Wars Weekends this year:

• May 20-22
• May 27-29
• June 3-5
• June 10-12

So, what do you think about all of this?

Disney Marathon, 5K, or Obstacle Course?

So Disney just did the Disney Marathon last weekend at Disney World.

Actually, there were several different races:

• Marathon
• Half Marathon
• Marathon Relay
• Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge
• Buzz and Woody's Best Friends 5K
• Mickey's Marathon Kids Fest

Basically, if you want to run, there's something for everybody in this Marathon weekend.  And what better venue than running through Disney Parks!  

I'm soooooo not a runner.  Meaning, I don't run just to run.  I need more motivation than that.  I can't just run down the road, on a treadmill, around a track.  It's boring.  Now, if I had to run through Disney World where I could be completely distracted from the fact that I'm running miles and miles because I get to see the parks at the same time...well, I might be open to that.

Disney has several other endurance events during the year.

• The Princess Half Marathon at WDW in February (and the related shorter races)
• The Wine & Dine Half Marathon at WDW in October (and the related shorter races)
• Expedition Everest Challenge at WDW in May

I'm not a fan of E:E at AK.  Love the theming; the drop is not my thing.  So I almost overlooked that last event there because to me, that sounded like riding E:E over...and over...and over again.

Then I looked a little deeper.  Obstacle course?  Scavenger Hunt?  Through AK?  Only 5K (~3 miles)?

Hmmm...that sounds more like my type of thing.

I'm all about obstacle courses and scavenger hunts.  Make it interesting!  This sounds like a very lite Amazing Race-type thing.  (Though can you imagine what a real Amazing Race type thing would be like at WDW!  I'd be on top of that in a heartbeat!)

I regularly do 5 miles on the elliptical at the YMCA.  I know, I know...it's not that same as running on hard ground.  

Dude...don't care.  I'm not road racing...I'm racing at WDW!

Plus, if the scavenger hunt is the same concept...the clues you get are totally based on your knowledge of Animal Kingdom.  Shouldn't be a problem.

So...I'm seriously thinking about it. 

Should I do it?  What do you think?

Southwest Revamps Rapid Rewards. More Free Seats or Not?

Southwest had quite the fan following.  Many travelers love their operation and they have quite the presence in Orlando.  Lots of WDW visitors come in on a Southwest jet. Loyalists are members of the Rapid Rewards program where you earn "credits" toward free flights.

Changes were rumored to be coming and yesterday, Southwest announced the New Rapid Rewards Program effective March 1.

Summing up what's new:

• Now you earn "points" instead of credits for every dollar you spend
• Any seat is available on any plane at any time.  No blackouts.
• Points don't expire. Ever.
• The amount of points you earn depends on the number of dollars you spend on your fare.

Lower fares require fewer points.

If you still have credits, don't worry - they are still there and you can still use them.

Want the deets?  Check it out. 

A Look Back at Disney 2010

Before I get back to my photo posts, I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the interesting news/happenings with Disney in 2010.

The Art of Animation Resort was announced and is moving along nicely. In fact, some new concept art was just released:

This one is from the Lion King section

And we also have Cars, Finding Nemo and Little Mermaid

Expansion was the name of the game this year.  Both Disney World and Disneyland worked on expanding different areas of their respective parks.

Disney World started the Fantasyland expansion and re-introduced the Main Street Electrical Parage in Magic Kingdom.  We also saw the return of Captain EO to Epcot and the long-awaited Star Wars 2.0 upgrade was announced.

Disneyland launched World of Color and made progress on CarsLand among other things.

DVC made progress on Aulani, its resort in Hawaii.  It welcomes its first guest in August 2011. 

The long awaited Disney Dream cruise ship was completed and as we speak, is making its way toward Florida for its first voyage.

I had two great trips to Disney in 2010 and enjoyed them both!  The private parties in June were fantastic, but Christmas season at Disney World is my absolute favorite.

As we start off 2011, I'm excited for Destination D and the WDW Scavenger Hunt in May and we'll just have to see what happens as the year moves on.

I'm actually going to be moving the blog in January to a new platform and website. Look for more announcements on that in a week or so. 

Have a fabulous start to 2011!