Disneyzone News - April 2002 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 & 2002 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.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Magic at any Age By Nina and Carl We wanted to share some ideas for the older Disney fans out there. My daughter and her husband invited us along on a Disney World vacation last October. Initially we had no intention of going with them. In order not to hurt their feelings we came up with every excuse in the book. Our biggest concerns were that we would slow them down, or hinder their efforts to keep the kids happy. Our grandchildren are 7 and 11 and are the type of children who like to run and run and do it all. My husband and I are out of shape older people and knew that we would not be able to run all day long. It wasn’t that we did not want to go, we just didn’t want to force them to slow down for our sake. After a month of trying to get out of it my daughter told me that she already made reservations, already bought our plane tickets and we had to go or she would lose money! (I found out later that this was not true).. So we agreed. The grandkids were thrilled that we were going, but we kept telling them that we would have to stay at the hotel and rest some part of the day, every day! They didn’t care, they wanted us with them. So the day came when we would leave. I must say I was just as excited as those grandkids. My husband was too, even though he would never admit it. My husband has arthritis, and it hurts him to walk too much. We arranged to have an electric wheelchair delivered to our hotel. It was only $32 a day, which didn’t seem bad at all. My husband didn’t want to use it, but I gave him a bit of a guilt trip about slowing everyone down to wait for him to rest all the time. So he agreed. He was very happy that I forced him to use it. He was able to keep up with everyone and had no pain! I was a bit tired at one point and rode it, it was a fun little ride. The parks are great for older people. They have benches everywhere, lots of shade, lots of shops and places to get snacks. We managed to find a nice place to sit and wait while the gang went on the big rides. We relaxed and people watched and found it enjoyable. I got a kick out of all the characters that would come up to us, pick us out of a crowd and come sit by me and give me hugs. Tigger at MGM was teasing my husband, which was really cute. Kept taking off his hat and running, then coming back and pretending to give it back but then didn’t. It was funny to watch. The hotel itself had lots of things to see and do, too. We stayed at the Yacht Club. It was gorgeous. We enjoyed sitting out by the giant pool area watching all the people swim. We also enjoyed the sandy area near the lake, got a snack and sat out there to watch the sunset one night which was very romantic. There were plenty of restaurants, and places nearby to explore. We took the round trip boat ride through Epcot and back. My daughter planned all our meals & we got to try many restaurants! If you are older, and slower, give Disney World a shot. We had the time of our lives! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Trivia Time... Did you know.. . . .that the first Mickey newspaper cartoon appeared in 1930 . . . And the first Mickey watch appeared in 1933 More Disney trivia can be found in the DZ Message Boards! Check out Rusty Scuppers Forum! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Park Hours Theme Park Hours will be omitted from the DZ News for the next few months, or until Disney goes back to a regular schedule. Park hours are being released a few weeks ahead of time. I suggest calling (407) WDISNEY prior to your trip to get current hours for the parks! You can also check their site: www.disneyworld.com Eticket Nights for April: April 5 9 to midnight April 15 8:30-11:30pm May nights listed on the site ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Random Tips from DZ Visitors Kathleen from Michigan...when we go to Disney, usually on the second to the last night of our trip, we take the kids to the pool at the hotel and I do all of our laundry from the trip...not only does this give the kids extra time at the pool, but when I get home after a fabulous vacation my laundry is DONE!!! Sue from Kentucky..I start checking for airfare at least 9 months prior to our trip. I watch the various sites and chart the prices on a spreadsheet type thing. I check expedia, travelocity, and the airlines sites. Then when prices dip below the charted prices, I snag them up! Matt from Texas.. We always let our kids each plan an entire day. We let them choose the park(s) we will go to, where we will eat, special parades and such. They have a great time planning and it really puts a nice focus on what they enjoy. We have 3 kids and it works very well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Restaurant Review By Eeyore62 Having missed our PS at 1900 Park Faire because we had under estimated how long it would take to check out, we decided to do lunch, instead. We had some last minute shopping to do at DTD, and figured we could eat there. We had eaten at Planet Hollywood once about 8 years ago, and liked it then. Even though we had heard negative reports, we decided to give it a go, and boy am I glad that we did! We were seated right away, and greeted right away by our server. He went over the menu with us, and suggested a few items. To drink, I had the Strawberry/Banana Smoothie---delicious!!! DH had a beer...Bud Light, I think. After looking over the menu, and deciding that for the money, we wanted something more than a burger, I decided on the combination fajitas, and DH chose the Pasta Pompadora. For the money, the fajitas could not have come with more steak and chicken...enough for 2 to eat comfortably. The peppers (which were both green and sweet red) and the onions were caramelized, sweet and tender. The guacamole had large chunks of avacado, and the cheese and tortillas were plentiful. The steak and chicken was tender, and cooked perfectly, The Pasta Pompadora was also wonderful and plentiful. Somewhat spicy, but DH likes that! The serving was huge...actually it was deceiving, because it is served in the middle of a big soup type bowl and when you spread it out, if fills the entire bowl. DH had a hard time finishing it! We enjoyed the music, which at first seemed a little loud, but as the restaurant became full, the sound was absorbed. The memorabilia was interesting, as usual! I am so glad that we gave Planet Hollywood another chance, despite the negativity that we had read here on the DZ boards. We will definitely be returning! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why Disney World is a great vacation spot! In a recent newsletter we asked you to submit some of your Disney favorites. One of the questions asked, Why is Disney a Great vacation spot? Here are some replies: Sharon—Because I can feel like a kid and relax and everything is magical around me. Bryce—No matter your age, dreams truly come true. You never have to grow up, and it's perfectly acceptable to run around in Mickey and Minnie ears. We see it with every trip we take. That's why we celebrate every anniversary at the World. Steven—Relax / Dont have to drive /No worries / They have everything! Edward—I plan on taking my wife every year for her birthday. Done it 3 times already. We both feel like kids when we are there! No worries and no outside stresses. We done even have kids and we love the place. Gail—it is the only place that can bring a hint of a tear to the eye of my man of stone as he watches the expression Disney brings to the faces of our children Diane—There's no other place this magical Ellen—WDW offers such a large a variety of experiences and opportunities all located in one area. But mostly, it is a place for fun, joy, and magic. Jeff—it's a place that offers excitement and magic to all three generations in my family. My 6 and 10 year olds love the rides and characters; my wife and I (late 30's) love the rides, shows, and restaurants; and 65 year old Grandma enjoys the food, shows, and Disney hotels. Sheila—There is so much to do and it is all so Magical Andrea—Everyone there is happy and having a wonderful time no matter what problems they may have at home and in their lives. Bonnie—It’s the one place where everyone can be a kid. Forget your worries and just have fun. Sara—There is something for everyone. Even if you don’t like rides you can have a great time. We love trying new restaurants each time we go. If you cant have fun at Disney than you cant have fun anywhere. Shari—For the money you really get a lot of choices for entertainment. The magic is incredible! Tony—It’s the one place where a grown man (ME) can act like an 8 year old and are not made fun of. Julie—The planning is so much fun. I get the entire family in the act. We look forward to our Disney vacations for months in advance. There is so much, everyone has their own favorites! It’s a magical vacation spot. Amelia—The joy in your kids’ faces as they see the disney fireworks above the castle is worth every single penny! Cindy—What other vacation destination has people who bond together and talk about and help plan their next trips. Disney has a way of getting people to stay in the magic even after they return back home! Disney people rule! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kids Views This was a letter my son wrote to his grandmother who sent him some Disney Dollars for his birthday. He is 6 years old. Dear Gramma, Thank you for the money for Disneyworld that you sent me for my birthday. I don’t think it is enough. Mommy said we need a few thousand dollars to go and you only sent me $50. Can you send me more? Love, Erick I thought it was so funny that I wanted to share it with my DZ friends. I fixed the spelling so that it made sense. Out of the mouths of babes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ask Us! Starting next month there will be a column with questions & answers. Do you have a question regarding planning a Disney vacation? Send it to us via email: advice@disneyzone.net Who knows, maybe your question will be posted in a future newsletter. The e-mails will also be answered via e-mail. But be patient, we expect a high volume of questions! Thanks… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Birthday to: Nick, 11, Michael, 11, Rachel, 4, Jared, 6, Susie, Aaron, 13, Skylar, 3, Megan, 5 and Bob . . . and every other DZ’er that has a birthday in April! If you would like a birthday announced in the DZ News, send name, and birthday (and age if you want that in, too) kimmi@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 DZ now has a 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 for the newsletter! E-mail if you would like to contribute! ***********TRAVEL AGENTS AND COMPANIES ******** MouseEarVacations.com Unparalleled attention from Disney Experts will make your vacation extra magical! 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