August 6th Update: Disney has extended hours at the Magic Kingdom from 10pm to 11pm on August 11th and 12th and added an 11pm Main Street Electrical Parade on August 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, and 14th.  I always recommend viewing the second Parade because it will be less crowded than the first.  Also consider heading to one of the headlining or Fantasyland rides during the first parade because a lot of people will be away from the rides and waiting on Main Street.  Consider a Parade viewing spot in Frontierland or Liberty Square.  Both lands are much less popular than Main Street and you’ll be able to get a better view of the Parade with a shorter wait.

July 21 Update: I Made some significant changes to the August 2010 Crowd Calendar because Disney released new hours and added a second Fantasmic show and evening parade at the Magic Kingdom on a lot of dates.  The recommended Parks haven’t changed, but I also updated the explanations to be more clear.  The revised calendar is available here.

I have updated the look of the site a bit.  Hopefully this iteration will be easier to read/navigate.  Everything appears like it’s in its proper place.  I’ll be changing the main page in the coming week to show site updates etc. rather than the 1 million page scroll-a-thon it currently is.  I’m not particularly savvy technology-wise unfortunately.  I would love to make this site non-Wordpress based, but don’t really know where to start.  If you or someone you know designs website you are welcome to refer them to me at the email address located in the “about me” page above.

I am currently working on the December 2010 crowd calendar, which should hopefully be completed by Wednesday.  I’m not sure how long it will take to get through December 20-30, but hopefully I can make it through at a decent pace.

Take care, Josh

August 6th update: I have made a substantial update to the Disney World Calendar of Crowds, Cost, Weather, and Events.   It now includes:

• A new section for openings and closures of rides, restaurants, parks, etc.
• A new section under each month outlining the best week to visit
• Added links to each “day-by-day crowd calendar,” with the best theme park to visit each day along with daily cost, average temperature, chance of precipitation, estimated overall crowd level, extra magic hour schedule, Fantasmic schedule, special events, dates of important promotions, and ride closures and openings.
• Instead of a “forward looking” outlook, more emphasis on 2010 and 2011 dates.
• Updated/edited various sections

I have also updated each of the articles in the Tickets category to reflect the new pricing that went into effect yesterday.  This include:

Disney World Magic Your Way Base Ticket Introduction

Is the Disney Water Park Fun & More Upgrade Worth the Cost?

Is the Disney No Expiration Ticket Upgrade Worth the Cost?

Is the Disney Park Hopper Ticket Upgrade Worth the Cost?

I have added the January 2011 (it’s weird typing 2011, try it) Crowd Calendar and updated each of the crowd calendars for the other months. They now include a new line at the bottom with important ride closures and openings, promotion start and end dates, event information, and other pertinent information. You can find them to your right under “Crowd Calendar and Daily Best Park to Visit.” I’m trying to come up with another way to present it because the calendars seem a little “busy” now. I’ll be working on a couple articles to add to the “Is Is Worth It?” category in the next couple days because I don’t think I can bear to look at Microsoft Publisher or CPanel’s Legacy File Manager until at least Thursday. February 2011 will probably take a few days and then it’s on to some recommended touring plans and March 2011.

The site seems to be coming along okay, although I honestly don’t know what to expect. From April 1 to April 30 I had 839 total visits with a total of 1,398 pageviews. So far in the first three days of August I’ve had 890 visits and 2,240 page views. Progress, I suppose, but I think we’re still a good 500,000 off MouseSavers. I’ll be doing some “site optimization” in the next few days which will hopefully make the site easier to navigate. If you hadn’t noticed, there are a lot of categories to your right.

Until next time. Take care, Josh

Updated May 5, 2012 with 2012 dates, pricing, and information

What is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (often abbreviated to MVMCP) is an after-hours “hard ticket” event held at the Magic Kingdom on select dates each holiday season.  When I say “hard ticket,” I mean that you will need to purchase an additional ticket to attend (prices below).  Magic Your Way Tickets, Annual Passes, etc. will not get you into the Party.  The Party runs from 7pm through 12am.  The Magic Kingdom does not completely close prior to the event.  Instead, visitors who have tickets will trade them for a wristband that indicates they are attending the Party.  Those without tickets will be asked to leave and there will be attendants checking wristbands throughout the evening, including at each of the ride entrances.

Continue reading “Is 2012 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party MVMCP Worth the Cost?”

Food Type: “French”

Location: Center of New Fantasyland straight back behind Cinderella Castle. In between Enchanted Tales with Belle and Belle’s Village.

Dining Plan: 1 Table Service

Cost:  Appetizers: $5-$16; Entrées: $17-$33; Kids: $9 – $11.

Discounts: 20% Tables in Wonderland.

Continue reading “Be Our Guest Restaurant Dinner Review”