Month: February 2019

Epcot’s “Historic Transformation” is really gaining momentum

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (February 25, 2019) – Our friends at the Disney parks Blog broke the news last Friday of new plans for a new park entrance and a new use for the old Wonders of Life Pavilion that, aside from use as a “festival center” during Epcot’s annual International Food and Wine Festival, has been largely dormant for years.

Touted as a “first-of-its-kind play pavilion” in the old Wonders of Life, the new area and a new park entrance will be among the many parts of Epcot’s historic transformation.

As reported in the Disney Parks Blog: “As many of you know, we’ve got BIG plans for our multi-year transformation of Epcot, with new experiences that’ll “Wow!” guests while keeping true to the original vision of the park. Today, we’re excited to share even more of what’s to come. 

“The ongoing evolution of Epcot includes plans for a play pavilion that’ll be unlike anything you’ve ever seen at the park. This new space will be devoted to playful fun and feature an innovative city that’ll come to life under the dome of the un-named pavilion previously known as Wonders of Life. The pavilion’s city will be bursting with interactive experiences, your favorite Disney characters, hands-on activities and engaging entertainment when it opens just in time for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort!

“This innovative, new pavilion is beyond anything we’ve ever created and is completely unique to Epcot,” said Zach Riddley, portfolio executive, Walt Disney Imagineering. “Built on the power of play, it introduces an immersive and interactive ‘city’ where you can explore, create, and interact with some of your favorite Disney characters. This is an experience worthy of our bold vision for Epcot – and another signature element of our transformation.”

There will also be exciting changes to the way you come and go at Epcot! As you can see above, changes are coming to the Epcot main entrance, where the plaza will welcome guests with new pathways, sweeping green spaces and a newly reimagined fountain. This new design will pay homage to the original park entrance with fresh takes on classic elements.

As part of the new entry experience, Leave A Legacy photos will be moving into a beautiful setting just outside the park’s gateway. Additional significant redevelopment will begin between Spaceship Earth attraction and the World Showcase Promenade. More details about the transformation of this area will be announced at a later date.

And if you’re as excited as we are about these upcoming projects, you’ll soon be able to look into the future with us at a new Experience Center coming to Epcot later this year. The Experience Center will be located in the Odyssey Events Pavilion and feature interactive exhibits to help visualize park projects throughout this unprecedented period of transformation.

Here are some of the other exciting Epcot experiences we’ve shared: 

Remember, when planning for your next Disney Vacation, Griswold’s Magical Memoriesoffers the lowest prices available on rental of Deluxe Disney Vacation Club Villas at savings that are often more than 50% less than booking directly through Disney Central Reservations. Take a look at examples of actual savings our Vacationers have enjoyed, and then submit your Free, No Obligation Reservation Request Formtoday!


Don’t Fall for “Cheap” or Discounted WDW Ticket Scams

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (February 11, 2019) – If you’ve been to Walt Disney World and spent time driving around the area outside the WDW Resort, you have no doubt seen all sorts of signs offering “Cheap” or “Deeply Discounted” tickets for the Theme parks.

Two words of advice: “Stay Away!”

These cheap tickets are not without risk, and the risk just isn’t worth it in our view. 

We tell all our Griswold’s Magical MemoriesVacationersthat other than Under Cover Touristand the American Automobile Association (AAA)tickets should be purchased directly through Disney (Note: Some companies do have legitimate discounted and official WDW ticket packages as part of an employee benefits program, so you may want to check on that as well.)

The ticket scammers are often selling you old tickets they bought because there were some admission days left on them. If you buy these tickets, you will be in for a potentially very costly and disappointing circumstance as you try to enter the parks. Disney will know based on the ways they track their tickets that you are NOT the person who bought them. You will lose the money to spent with the scammers and ten have to buy new tickets from Disney to enter the parks. Not a fun thing at all!

Remember, when the original ticket purchaser entered the parks on their first day they placed their finger on the scanner and their finger- print became immediately and permanently linked to that ticket. You, of course, don’t have the same finger-print so the your ticket will be invalidated and you will not be allowed the enter.

We also advise our Vacationers to be careful when purchasing theme park admission tickets online. There are ticket sellers running the same scams there as well. 

Remember, when planning for your next Disney Vacation, Griswold’s Magical Memoriesoffers the lowest prices available on rental of Deluxe Disney Vacation Club Villas at savings that are often more than 50% less than booking directly through Disney Central Reservations. Take a look at examples of actual savings our Vacationers have enjoyed, and then submit your Free, No Obligation Reservation Request Formtoday!

Who REALLY pays DVC Members the MOST for their unused points and who REALLY saves Vacationers the MOST on their Disney Vacations?

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (February 4, 2019) – In the business of matching up DVC Members with unused points with Vacationers looking to save big on a Disney Vacation, both Members and Vacationers have a lot of options.

Buzz Lightyear, Sheriff Woody and Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl from “Toy Story” interact with guests in the new Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (David Roark, photographer)

We think being a small, “boutique” DVC rental firm with over 300 hundred trips from 1973 to 2019 as both DVC members (since 1997) and as non-member Vacationers we can offer many special benefits that the “big boys” simply cannot.

We pride ourselves on being a small, US-based family business of Disney lovers who offer every single one of our clients special, truly personal service. Will go so far as being sure we are available to answer any and all questions not just about the DVC Point Rental Process but also about plans for your upcoming trip. Just ask one of the other rental firms for personalized, customized trip planning services and hear what they have to say. It won’t be much other than, “No, we don’t do that.” We do, and there is NEVER any added charge for that service.

Why we Love our Work

We help Vacationers make their Disney vacation dreams come true at a fraction of the cost of booking direct through Disney. We help our DVC Members turn points they can’t use before annual expiration dates into immediate cash. (And yes, despite what others, WE PAY OUR DVC MEMBERS THE MOST of any rental firm at $15/pt for rentals more than 7 months out, and $14 for rentals for less than 7 months out. Don’t be confused by the false claims of others. When they say they pay more, they are not telling you the truth.)

Anyway, here’s one example from just today (Feb 4, 2019) that is a great example of the savings we offer to our Vacationers every day.

This morning, a family of four sent us one of our FREE, No-OBLIGATION Reservation Request Formslooking for a Deluxe Studio Villa checking-in on 9/16/19 and checking-out on 9/26/19 . Our Vacationers pay $17/point for reservation more than 7 months in advance and $16/pt for reservations less than 7 months in advance.

Here are the options we were able to offer this family (PS: They a Deluxe Studio at Boardwalk Villas.)

Option 1: Boulder Ridge – 152 points = $2,584.00.  Booking through WDW central reservations would cost: $4,279.00Old 

Option 2: Key West – 106 points = $1,802.00  Booking through WDW central reservations would cost:  $3,838.00

Option 3: Saratoga Sprints – 116 points = $1,972.00  Booking through WDW central reservations would cost: $3,838.00

Option 4: Animal Kingdom, Savanna view – 144 points = $2,448.00  Booking through WDW central reservations would cost: $4,081.00

Option 5: Boardwalk Villas – 152 points = $2,584.00  Booking through WDW central reservations would cost: $5,269.00

Option 6: Polynesian Resort, lake view – 208 points = $3,536.00.  Booking through WDW central reservations would cost: $6,435.00

Remember, when planning for your next Disney Vacation, Griswold’s Magical Memoriesoffers the lowest prices available on rental of Deluxe Disney Vacation Club Villas at savings that are often more than 50% less than booking directly through Disney Central Reservations. Take a look at examples of actual savings our Vacationers have enjoyed, and then submit your Free, No Obligation Reservation Request Formtoday!