Disneyzone News - October 2001 Issue - TEXT VERSION This is the text-only version of the DZ News. This version will not include any photographs, special charts, calendars, or graphs. Please note that Disneyzone is not affiliated with Disney in any way. We are a group of Disney World enthusiasts who want to assist you in making the most of your next Disney World vacation Newsletter and content Copyright © 2000 & 2001 Disneyzone - Please do not alter or copy any or all of this material, or use it on a website, or printed media without prior written permission, from Disneyzone or from the individual article's author.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Its A Small World... First of all, let me say that everyone affiliated with DZ joins me in sending sympathies and prayers to the thousands and thousands of victims of the Sept. 11 tragedies. I have been torn on what to do on this front page of the newsletter, and finally have decided to put in some of the entries received for the current contest. Some of them are very touching, and wanted to share them! The contest asked: It’s a Small World because . . . Due to modern conveniences and methods, we are all inexplicably tied together in bonds that permit the whole to be affected when any of the parts are suffering. –j.s. Until tragedy strikes, we never realize how many people from all over the world care about us. My husband works for the secret service. His boss from DC and a friend were in NYC. We had people from as far away as Italy email us to let us know they were thinking about us. –a.k. You never realize how great you have it until disaster hits so close to home. Life is too short to have petty arguments and situations in your everyday life. Everyone must learn to live life to the fullest and not to take ordinary everyday things for granted. This whole situation makes me evaluate things and see how good I really do have it. –b.h. We are all able to shed tears, as one, for people we do not even know. –t.s. We are all human with the capacity to love, learn and laugh. We may not speak the same language but we can share a smile, understand a tear and joyfully laugh at the wonders of life. –a.b. On the same day, the Queen of England, the President of the United States, the leaders of the European Union, and me, a simple person in Nashville Tennessee, all wished for the same thing at the same time –a.s. You see people, that would never get together, feel the same great passion and willingness to help and care about each other so much it makes you step back and see that we are all we are one –b.l. When something affects one country it affects all countrys it puts a strain on the political and financial runnings of countrys and destroys families and friends –j.c. We are all brothers and should help one another -l.b. It's a small world because every action, whether good or bad, has an affect on all those around us. –s.d. It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hope and a world of fears. There's so much to be shared, that it's time we're aware....IT'S A SMALL WORLD, AFTER ALL –c.j. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit the Message Boards! One of the most popular sections on DZ just happens to be the Message Boards! You can post questions/answers/advice or just hang around and read what others say! We have a very friendly, helpful group on the boards! Give it a try www.disneyzone.net click on the FORUMS link! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Restaurant Review by Brandi "We had the pleasure of dining at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge on our trip to Disney World in September. The atmosphere in this restaurant was outstanding. The server was very informative, explaining the different stations and how the food was prepared, and encouraged us to try everything, as it was so different. The food is set up in stations which is totally unlike other buffets. There is a station of cold African style salads - potato, rice, tossed and watermelon rind (which was explained to us is a palate cleanser between courses), along with a variety of African breads. This is where we started. The next station is hot dishes. Everything from delicious Moroccan rice to potatoes, to authentic hot African vegetables. There was also 4 different soups to try....they were all wonderful! There is another station with meat, where there is a chef carving prime rib and pork loin...also at this station was chicken and flank steak and in front were 4 "sauces" to put on your meat selection, very different and unusual. There is a small station with selections for children which has for example chicken fingers and macaroni & cheese.Finally there is the best station of all...THE DESSERTS! The most popular dessert there, we were told, were the Zebra Domes and I can see why. Scrumptious to say the least. They are chocolate cake filled with Kahlua with stripes on the top...yummy. There were also several types of cakes, fruit, hot banana pudding and hot apple tarts. The service was the best we have experienced at WDW. From the time we were seated we were treated as if we were the only ones dining there that evening. Our glasses were refilled continuously without hesitation. We tried a little portion of each so we could experience this great African cuisine. The price of this "all you can eat" buffet is $19.95 per adult....beverages are separate. After dinner we went outside where we were able to view the animals roaming the fenced in areas....giraffes, zebras, kudos, etc. A nice ending to a perfect evening. We are going to dine at Boma on our next trip in December and would recommend this restaurant without hesitation to anyone planning a trip to Disney World." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tips for Families with Young Kids More Tips from Allison I have been to Disney World 4 times in the past 3 years with my family. We have small children and I have been there pregnant, too. So I have a lot of tips to share. I know it may sound strange but make a list of the things each child uses on a daily basis. Comfort things as well as baby care items. And bring absolutely everything you think you may need. I hear people saying that they can just ‘buy it’ when they get there. Do you realize how much more everything costs once you get down there? I usually pack an entire extra suitcase with all the ‘might need’ items. One time we forgot to bring extra pacifiers. Not usually hard to find, but we couldn’t find any. Somehow we lost the one we had. My poor child had a horrible day because we didn’t have a pacifier! We finally left and drove to Publix to get more. There have been other times when we have simply forgotten about something. So now I write a list for each child and then pack everything that I find on that list. We err on the side of being prepared but our kids are much happier because of it! Another tip I have is to please keep nap times and eating schedules as normal as possible. If you fly to Florida and there is a time change, stay on your old schedule and ease into the new time zone. Your babies wont understand that its already noon, when to their body its 9am. Give them time to adjust. Naptimes are great for everyong. You have to keep the bedtimes and all schedules the same as at home, its really the only way to keep the babies and small children ‘their same old sweet selves’. You will notice many cranky toddlers walking around and I would bet its because they are totally off schedule and their bodies are out of whack. Another tip I can think of is to be very careful with tiny kids and the characters. Your child may be very friendly, and sociable, but a HUGE character in costume may be scary. We stay back and let the kids watch the characters interact with the other kids, then gradually get closer and closer until the last couple days they are ready to visit them. Some kids are fine right away, but many are not. One last thing for this issue. Don’t make your kids do anything they are not comfortable doing. If they are petrified of the dark, then don’t take them on rides that are dark inside. If your child is afraid of loud noises, avoid the rides that have loud noises. Just use common sense. You know your children! I hope you enjoy my tips! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Trip Comments By Diana I just returned from Disney World recently. We left Disney World the day before the terrorist attacks. Luckily we didn’t extend our trip! We were going to try to! We stayed at the Polynesian Resort and loved it. We stayed in a great room not far from the pool area. The kids loved being able to get to the pool quickly. The weather was pretty rainy most days but it was also hot. We were amazed at the lack of crowds. I had heard that early September may still have some crowds. We rarely waited more than 5 or 10 minute for anything. We didn’t make any food reservations and were able to walk right into most places to eat without much wait. We spent most of our time in the parks enjoying it to the fullest. My kids are 9 and 12 and they both liked MGM the best. I personally enjoyed them all equally, certain tings about one I liked and then other things not. Actually there wasn’t much that we didn’t enjoy. The kids were not into the countries at Epcot so we just flew through that area. I wanted to go check it all out but didn’t get to. We also didn’t spend much time at Downtown Disney because my boys just had no patience for shopping. We really just spent the whole time running from ride to ride and from park to park. We picked places to eat by how it sounded at that moment. Flew by the seat of our pants mostly. I recommend this time of year to everyong. The weather could have been a little better but it was not horrible. The rain cooled us off from the high humidity. The Polynesian Resort was spectacular and we would stay there again anytime. Our room felt brand new. I don’t know if it had been redone recently or not, but it was great. Our vacation was the best. I owe most of it to the people at this site. We would have never known some of the best things. Thanks to DZ people for all the advice! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Park Hours, E-Ticket and Early Entry Days Chart will not be shown in this text-only version ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kids’ Views By Patrick and Cole The very best part about this newspaper is the kids that write things. I am 12 and my brother Cole is 9. We like to go to Disney World allot. We live in Florida and get to go probly 4 times each year. We don’t get to stay at the hotels cuz we stay at our grandmas house. We love all the thrill rides and all the shows too. We get to get there when it opens and stay until it closes. We think that everyone should take there kids to Disney World once a year at least. Eat at all the fun restrants too. My favorite is Rainforest Café that is near Animal Kingdom and Cole likes Whispering Canyon the most. I hope you put this in your newspaper so everyone could read it. *unedited, direct from email ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Travel Polls There is a Poll on the DZ Resort Biographies Page on the site. In September it asked which theme park is the best to visit first during your stay. Here are the results : Magic Kingdom : 39% Epcot: 17% Disney MGM : 18% Animal Kingdom: 8% Any of them: 18% We’ll have a new Poll for October! The more people who participate, the more accurate the poll will be so visit the link below TODAY and submit your vote! www.disneyzone.net/resortbios.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Something New... This is the debut of the DZ Classifieds section! Please visit our advertisers, and tell them that you saw their ad in the DZ News :) If you are interested in advertising, or would like to comment regarding this issue, please email me at: kimmi@disneyzone.net Articles, restaurant reviews, kids articles always needed! E-mail if you would like to contribute! NOTE: In this text only version, the ads will not look anything like they do in the .pdf version ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Birthday to: Ryan, 1, Sharon, Marie, Alesha, Tom, 40, Jared, 9, Lisabeth, 14, Christian, Douglas, 10, Emilee. . . and every other DZ’er that has a birthday in OCTOBER! If you would like a birthday announced in the DZ News, send name, and birthday (and age if you want that in, too) kim@disneyzone.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THANKS to all the Disneyzone visitors for their help with the newsletter and the site!!! Tell your friends about Disneyzone! They can get their own copy of the Disneyzone News emailed to them each month, all they have to do is go to the site and register. They will automatically be put on the list. If you would rather, you may print it out or forward it. Newsletter and content Copyright © 2000 & 2001 Disneyzone - Please do not alter or copy any or all of this material, or use it on a website, or printed media without prior written permission, from Disneyzone or from the individual article's author.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLASSIFIEDS This is our debut issue of the DZ Classifieds. Visit the advertisers below, and let them know you saw their ad in the DZ News! If you are interested in advertising, please email us at advertising@disneyzone.net for more details. ***********TRAVEL AGENTS AND COMPANIES ******** MouseEarVacations.com Unparalleled attention from Disney Experts will make your vacation extra magical! Best Prices plus: Insider tips- Suggested daily itineraries - Disney gifts Visit www.MouseEarVacations.com A division of Cruising Co Etc Look at our customers' comments - see why they come back to us for every Disney vacation! Disney World - Disney Cruise - Disneyland Free online quotes or call toll free: 800-886-8601 to request that a Disney specialist contact you. Magical Journeys- Your Attraction Destination Specialists. Disney, Universal, and More for Less! No consultation fees. Licensed, bonded, and insured. Visit www.yourmagicaljourneys.com. **********GIFT IDEAS*********************** Disney Character Watches. Mickey, Minnie, Daffy, Donald, Pluto, Movie Themes and More. Wholesale prices available to dealers. Individual watch sales to collectors and retail customers. Visit our site and order on-line. www.watchcloseouts.com *********DISASTER SERVICES/CHARITIES ************ RED CROSS The Red Cross will continue to need blood and monetary donations as the weeks go by. However small your donation, it all adds up! Please visit their website at www.redcross.org to see how to help! A memorial fund has been created to help provide for the families of police, fire and emergency workers who were killed during rescue efforts. The Twin Towers Fund General Post Office P.O. Box 26999 New York, NY 10087-6999 HELPING.ORG is a website dedicated entirely to helping the victims of the Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks. Relief organizations tell us that they most need cash donations to fund special resources and personnel. To make a donation or learn more about these different organizations visit www.helping.org ********************************************* Put your ad in the DZ News and reach Disney fans! Email us for info! Advertising@disneyzone.net Please note that all ads on this page are paid advertisements and DZ, Disneyzone does not endorse their products or services.