Breaking news from CNNMoney.com staff writer David Goldman.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Walt Disney Co. announced Monday that it has agreed to purchase comic book and action hero company Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion.

The deal pairs a comic book publisher that just recently began to produce its own movies with one of the largest international media companies in the world.

"This is perfect from a strategic perspective," Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told CNNMoney.com. "This treasure trove of over 5,000 characters offers Disney the ability to do what we do best."

On a conference call with investors, Iger said the deal will allow Disney to sell Marvel's vast array of characters and properties across different media platforms and in many more markets. For instance, Iger said that Disney's Pixar animation unit was excited about the opportunities that a Marvel acquisition could yield.

"Spider-Man will appear in 'A Bug's Life' sequel," joked Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente.

The deal would give Disney some content that appeals more to boys, a market it has been looking to develop, Iger said. Disney XD, a television station and video game unit, already had a deal with Marvel to use some of the comic book company's action heroes in its content.

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Marvel Chief Executive Ike Perlmutter.

"This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."

Marvel has launched a large number of action-hero movies over the past decade, including "Spider-Man," "X-Men," "The Fantastic Four" and "The Incredible Hulk."

Crockett said Disney would likely become the sole distributor of Marvel's movies in the future, giving it a "full plate" of movie releases, including Pixar, Marvel and its own films.

Theme Park Impact?
It will be interesting to see what impact this will have upon Disney World and the other Disney theme parks. This really opens up a whole new realm of possiblilties for theme park attractions.

It has been a week since my family has returned home from a wonderful week of visiting the Walt Disney World Resort and 6 days of the Disney Dining Plan during the first week of the FREE Dining Promotion that Disney World is having.

• A campfire where you can roast marshmallows.
• A fun sing-a-long session with old favorite songs that make you feel like you are at camp.
• A chance to see Chip & Dale and have your photograph taken with them and have them sign your autograph books.
• After the sing-a-long a Disney Movie is shown on the big outdoor screen, like the drive-ins of the past.

The rustic setting of the Ft. Wilderness Campground makes a great setting for this event. You do not have to be staying at the campground to participate. Any Disney Guest can attend for free.

To get there either drive to the main Ft. Wilderness parking lot or take a bus from one of the parks or Downtown Disney to Ft. Wilderness. Then board one of the Yellow line internal buses to the 1500 area Bus Stop.

If you don't remember the stop, tell the bus driver that you are going to the Chip & Dale Campfire and they will let you know where to go.

When the Disney Vacation Club, aka DVC, announced in early 2007 that they were starting to sell ownership interest in the to be built Animal Kingdom Villas there was a lot of excitement.

If you are a fan of the Walt Disney World Resort, the conversation will often turn to food.

Disney World is home to a wide variety of foods and many people have their favorites that they rave about.


Certainly the most talked about breakfast item in all of Disney World is the Polynesian Resort's Tonga Toast.

Until this past week, I had only heard about the famous Tonga Toast, but had never had the opportunity to taste it for myself.

During this most recent trip, I made it one of my family's goals to get to try the Tonga Toast one morning for breakfast.

On the morning that we were planning to go to the Magic Kingdom, we boarded a Disney Bus headed to the Magic Kingdom at about 8:15 am.

Once we arrived, we promptly headed for the Resort Monorail station and caught the next monorail. At the 3rd stop, we got off at Disney's Polynesian Resort. It is a beautiful resort that we would be visiting again later in the week to dine at 'Ohana, but this morning was all about the Tonga Toast.

There are actually two places at the Polynesian resort where you can get this famed breakfast item. You can go to the table service restaurant called Kona Cafe or you can also get it at the Quick Service location on the first floor of the resort called Captain Cook's.

We decided to use a couple of our Disney Dining Plan Quick Service credits and eat at Captain Cook's.

You order through a touch screen menu and then take your receipt to the cashier to pay. Here you receive a pager that will go off when your food is ready. There are tables available inside and outside. We choose the outside tables since it was still early morning and it wasn't too hot yet. Besides the scenery at the resort is beautiful.

Once we finally received our Tonga Toast it was a sight to behold. It was an extremely thick slice of sourdough bread that is stuffed with a layer of bananas and then deep fried and coated with cinnamon sugar. Then you add syrup and enjoy.

The pictures may not do it justice, but the Tonga Toast was probably over 3 inches thick and quite filling.

This was a wonderful treat that certainly lived up to all of the acclaim.

This little excursion to track down the famous Tonga Toast and try it for ourselves was the highlight of our morning and certainly one of the fun memories of our recent trip.

This is one Disney World experience that everyone should add to their list of things to do.

One of the newest activities to do when visiting Disney World is to check out the "Disney's Kim Possible World Showcase Adventures" at Epcot.

This interactive activity is geared towards kids, but I can confidently say first hand that it is fun for the whole family.

















When visiting Epcot there are several stations throughout the park that allow you to sign up to participate in one of the Kim Possible missions. There are stations in each of the Innoventions buildings and another large station on the walkway between Future World and the World Showcase. There are several others located throughout the World Showcase.

















Once you locate one, you will use your park ticket and run it through a scanner. You will then receive a ticket that looks similar to a FastPass that tells you a time and place to report to be able to start your mission.




















The activity is free with your paid admission to Epcot.

If you are familiar with the Kim Possible characters it will help, but even if you aren't you will be able to follow along. The adventure currently consists of 7 different Kim Possible missions. Each mission will take you to a different World Showcase country.









Each mission takes between 30 - 60 minutes to complete. The more familiar you are with the layout of the World Showcase the quicker you will be able to discover the landmarks in the clues.

Once you complete one mission you may sign up for another if you wish.

You are given a special cell phone (aka Kimmunicator) that you will use to receive information and activate hidden clues throughout the World Showcase.


It is a cool use of the technology and it is fun to see the secrets revealed after you press a button on the phone when in the proper position.


Some of the hidden clues ranged from, a flag raising, smoke coming from a chimney, water streaming from a rock, a golf ball ejecting from a phone phone, talking statues, and much more.



















We tried our first mission with a group of 4. That was probably too much for everyone to hear what is being said on the phone.

We later did two more missions where we broke up into groups of two and that worked much better.


This was very popular while we were there and everyone participating seemed to be having a good time. The groups ranged from adults with young children (4-6), adults with older children (10-12), and I even saw some teenagers and adults without children participating in missions.

This certainly added a new fun activity to do while touring the World Showcase. I think this especially appeals to those who are now getting to be too old for the Kidcot stations.


Disney World has a winner on its hands with this activity and I hope it looks to add other similar activities in the other theme parks.

August 18th marked the 1st birthday for the Only WDWorld blog, so it was fitting that it was spent at the Walt Disney World Resort for a vacation / research trip.


What Will You Celebrate?
Disney World certainly embraced 2009's theme "What Will You Celebrate?". Colorful "Celebrate Today!" banners were seen everywhere throughout the parks, resorts, and Downtown Disney.

I really liked how they turned the park icons into balloons for the banners. It was a very creative way to re-invent the same old image of the 4 icons. It had the familiar images (Cinderella's Castle representing the Magic Kingdom, Spaceship Earth representing Epcot, Sorcerer Mickey's Hat for Hollywood Studios, & the Tree of Life for Animal Kingdom), but by making them appear to be balloons they fit into the new "What Will You Celebrate?" promotion. Brilliant!





















Highlights of this trip included:

• Enjoying the Disney Dining Plan.
• Seeing the New Kidani Village at the Animal Kingdom Villas.
• Checking out Pixie Hollow at the Magic Kingdom.
• Seeing the redone Hall of Presidents attraction.
• Trying Tonga Toast for the 1st time at Captain Cook's in Disney's Polynesian Resort.

You will hear about these during the next several days.

During the trip over 2,000 pictures were taken during the week. From the obvious to the obscure many will appear in this blog over the next several weeks in a variety of articles. The evolution of the digital camera makes it possible to take that many pictures since I never seem to have the shot of what I am looking for when I am writing an article.

Hungry Crowds

The crowds were slightly larger than expected even though it was the first week of the FREE Dining Promotion. You could see the additional temporary Table Service Dining locations that were set up to accommodate the extra dining needs.

Even so, most signs at the parks showed dining opportunities were extremely limited for those who had not made prior reservations.

We were very pleased that our waits were very minimal for the restaurants that we made reservations for (Chefs de France, Le Cellier, Tony's Town Square, Coral Reef, & 'Ohana).

If you are travelling during the free dining season between now and the end of the year, please take the time to make your Table Service dining reservations ahead of time.

Also don't forget that many of the moderate and deluxe resorts have very goods table service restaurants.

Looking Forward To The Next Year

During this trip I was quickly reminded of all of the details and stories of the Walt Disney World Resort that have not been mentioned during the 1st year of blogging about Only WDWorld.

This upcoming year promises to continue to bring information about the latest Disney World discounts, tips for using the Disney Dining Plan, more Kid's Eye View articles, and more pictures and information about Disney World and what makes it so magical to so many people.

Disney World is certainly my favorite place to celebrate, no matter what the occasion!

Disney World's Free Dining Promotion for 2009 kicks into gear this Sunday August 16th and now extends to December 17th.


With so many people now eligible to receive free dining and use the Disney Dining Plan, it is important that you know how to get the most out of it.


First make sure you read: Disney Dining Plan to ensure that you are familiar with the basic rules of the plan and what you are entitled to.

Here are some guidelines to follow:

• Eat what you and your family like. Although eating the most expensive items on the menu, make your savings sound impressive, if you don't enjoy the meal its not worth it.
• MAKE DINING RESERVATIONS AHEAD OF TIME! This cannot be stressed enough. With nearly everyone getting this deal the restaurants will be crowded and many will not have available space for walk-ups. Call 407-WDW-DINE to make reservations before you get to Disney World. Currently you can make them up to 90 prior to your arrival.
• You will receive 1 Table Service credit, 1 Quick Service Credit, and 1 Snack credit for each person in your room for each NIGHT you are staying.
• The Dining Credits are given to you as a lump sum when you check in. You may use them as you wish. You are not limited to using just one credit of each type per person per day. If you want to have two Table service meals the first day and zero the next that is fine.
• After each Dining Plan purchase, your receipt will let you know how many of that type of credit you still have remaining.
• You get the most value out of your table service meals if you can use them for dinner.
• If you have young children consider eating at one or more character dining meals. These not only have personal character interaction, but they are buffet style meals. This reduces the wait time for hungry, impatient children.
• Look at the restaurant menus prior to your trip. You can look at: Only WDWorld Dining Menus Page for menus posted by Disney World or at Allears.net for frequently updated menus for Table Service and Quick Service locations.
• By reviewing menus ahead of time you know what kind of food is available at each location and you can plan where you want to eat your Quick Service meals.
• There is much more to eat for quick service meals than hamburgers and fries. For an article about some of the best Quick Service Options: Maximizing Counter Service Credits.
• Many of the best Quick Service Options provide a lot of food for one credit. Consider sharing a meal at lunch, so that you will have extra Quick Service credits to use for breakfast.
• Snacks are very useful - Don't forget about them. Many people use them for breakfast items - like pastries and danishes. Others love the mid-day desserts and treats. A good rule of thumb is to use the credits instead of using cash whenever the credits can be used.
• If you want to maximize your snack buying power check this article: Maximizing the Snack Credits.
  
• Lastly, planning ahead (like you are doing now!) can take the stress out of the Dining Plan and make it what it should be: A great way to enjoy the great Dining experiences that Disney World has to offer.

1. Disney has implemented energy-saving fixtures and other changes throughout the property in order to become an EPA "Energy Star Partner.
   Result: The original implementation of the program saved enough energy to power Disney’s Animal Kingdom in its first year of operation.


2. Disney World is changing out the light bulbs used in the Resort guest rooms to the more energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
   Result: when completed 176,325 bulbs will have been changed out.


3. LED lights are being used to replace neon lights in many signs, decorations, and holiday trees. These LED lights are use far less energy and last longer.


4. The lighting of Cinderella's castle during the Christmas holidays is done with LED lights instead of traditional incandescent lights. Over 170,ooo LED lights are used.
   Result: The entire castle is lit using the energy equivalent of 12 microwave ovens.


5. All 23 resorts on the Disney property had receive Florida's Green Lodging certification.
   To achieve this special designation, resorts must focus on five categories: water conservation, education and awareness, waste reduction, energy conservation and indoor air quality.


6. Disney World has instituted a Resort wide recycling program.
   Result: in 2007 they recycled:
   1,048 tons of scrap metal;
   1,255,090 pounds (628 tons)of cooking grease; and
   14 million pounds of cardboard


7. The Disney World Resorts have instituted a water conservation program that focuses on reducing overall usage and using reclaimed water wherever possible.
   Result: Over 30% of the resort's overall water consumption is met with reclaimed water.
   
8. Disney World Resorts and restaurants have gathered excess prepared food and donated it regularly to the Second Harvest Food bank to be distributed in central Florida.
   Result: Over 1,000 children are fed weekly through this program. In 2007 this program donated over 625,000 pounds of food to the local hungry in central Florida.


9. Disney World even makes use of the animal waste that is produced by the animals in Animal Kingdom and the Tri-D Circle Ranch (Ft. Wilderness).
   Result: In 2007, over 3,520 tons of manure was sent to the composting facility leading to the production of almost 542,000 pounds of compost daily.

There are 11 different Special Events, many with multiple sessions, for you to experience at the 2009 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

These special events are very popular and fill up fast. You may start making reservations on Aug. 11th by calling 407-WDW-Fest (939-3378).

Here is an overview of this year's events. you may get a complete list of Festival Events by downloading: the Official Festival Guide.

• Mexico Tequila Tastings - Learn about true Mexican Tequilas from a Tequila Master. Appetizers served with the tequila tasting.
  Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays at 3:00 pm.
  Cost = $35.00 + tax per person. Held at the Mexican Pavilion.
• Food & Wine Pairings - 3 wines are paired with 3 tasting sized portions of cuisine. A representative from the winery will moderate the session.
  Saturdays, 2:30–4:00 p.m. — Tutto Italia Ristorante;
  Mondays, 3:30–5:00 p.m. — Tokyo Dining;
  Tuesdays, 3:30–5:00 p.m. — Restaurant Marrakesh;
  Price: $55.00 per person, plus tax. Gratuity included.
• Cheese Seminars - Learn about cheese from the experts. Each cheese will be paired with selected wines.
  Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. — 11:45 a.m. in the Festival Welcome Center
  9/26 — Spain — Waldemar Albrecht–Luna
  10/3 — France — Max McCalman
  10/10 — Italy — Erin Hedley
  10/17 — United Kingdom — Waldemar Albrecht–Luna
  10/24 — United States — Max McCalman
  10/31 — France — Waldemar Albrecht–Luna
  11/7 — Italy — Max McCalman
  Price: $75 per person, plus tax.
• Epcot Adventures In Wine Varietals - Each session will focus on a specific varietal with instruction from an expert.
  Saturdays, 1:00 p.m. — 2:30 p.m. in Wonders Retreat.
  10/10 — Celebrating the Zinfandel Grape
  10/24 — Celebrating the Pinot Noir Grape
  11/7 — Celebrating the Cabernet Sauvignon Grape
  Price: $80 per person, plus tax.
• Sweet Sundays - An acclaimed Pastry Chef or Baker creates 3 signature desserts and serves them.
  Sundays from 10:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.
  9/27 — Rick Griggs
  10/4 — Warren Brown & Mary Meyers
  10/11 — David Guas
  10/18 — Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
  10/25 — Claire Clark
  11/1 — Geraldine Randalsome
  11/8 — Jacque Torres
  Price: $80 per person, plus tax.
• French Regional Lunches - French Wine and Cuisine representing a different region each session.
  Select Sundays, 12:00 p.m. at the Bistro de Paris, France Pavilion at Epcot
  10/4 — Bordeaux
  10/11 — Cotes du Rhone
  10/18 — Alsace
  10/25 — Champagne
  11/1 — Burgundy
  Price: $95.00 per person, plus tax.
• Epcot Wine Schools - A comprehensive program for those who want to further their wine knowledge.
  Select Weekend dates 1:00 — 4:00 p.m. at the Festival Welcome Center Retreat.
  10/3 — Taste Wine Like a Master
  10/17 — Wines from Monterey, California
  10/24 — Exploring the Burgundy Varietal's Chardonnay & Pinot Noir Around the World
  11/8 — Wines from South Africa
  Price: $125.00 per person, plus tax.
• Celebrating Friends & Family In The Kitchen - A 3-course lunch prepared by celebrity chefs and a wine paired with each course.
  Fridays from 10:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.
  10/2 — Suvir Saran
  10/3 — The Deen Brothers
  10/9 — Patti LaBelle
  10/16 — Dean Max and Paula DaSilva
  10/23 — Alan Wong
  10/30 — Cat Cora and Virginia Cora
  11/6 — Andrea and John Robinson
  Price: $110.00-130.00 per person, plus tax.
• Party For The Senses - An event filled with Tasting of Fine Cuisine and Wines from many notable chefs and wineries.
  Every Saturday during the Festival; 6:30 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.
  9/26 — Celebrating Spanish Cuisine
  10/3 — Celebrating Comfort Foods with a Twist
  10/10 — Celebrating South American Cuisine
  10/17 — Celebrating Classical Cuisine
  10/24 — Celebrating Asian Cuisine
  10/31 — Celebrating the Fall Harvest
  11/7 — Celebrating Italian Cuisine
  Price: $135 per person, plus tax.
• Culinary Adventure Signature Dining - A celebrity chef collaborates with a Disney Chef for a special meal.
  Select days at select venues at the Walt Disney World Resort (see below).
  10/1 6:30 p.m. Jiko–The Cooking Place — Suvir Saran
  10/1 7:00 p.m. Portobello Italian Trattoria — Tony Mantuano
  10/13 6:15 p.m. Ragland Road — Kevin Dundon
  10/15 5:30 p.m. Flying Fish Café — Tim Keating
  10/16 6:30 p.m. bluezoo — Todd English
  10/22 6:30 p.m. The Wave — Frank Brough
  10/25 6:30 p.m. Victoria & Albert's — Scott Hunnel
  10/29 6:30 p.m. California Grill — Brian Piasecki
  10/30 6:30 p.m. Wonders Retreat — Jean Claude Boisset vs. Jean Charles Boisset Wines
  11/5 6:30 p.m. Cítricos — Phillip Ponticelli
  Price: $100.00-$375.00 per person, plus tax.
  

Before your actual arrival at the Walt Disney World Resort it is important to have a basic plan in place for each day of your stay.

Take into consideration the time of year that you are attending and the activity preferences for your group.

Example:
For my upcoming trip next week I started with the fact that we will have 6 days available to visit the parks.

Since we are travelling in August, while the weather is very hot, we are going to follow a basic split day strategy, which means that we will have a park destination for each morning and plan to return to our resort for either resting or pool time in the early afternoon each day as it reaches its hottest point.

Each evening we will let our Dinner ADRs (advanced Dining Reservations) guide where we head.

We will be traveling as a family of 4 with children that are 10 & 12. They have moved from the stage where characters were the most important to the stage that thrill rides are the most important, so our plans reflect that.

Since we are looking at 6 days in the parks, there is the opportunity to visit all 4 parks on different days and repeat 2 of them on the remaining days. The kids chose Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios to be the parks we visit twice since they have the thrill rides that they want to ride the most.

In order to plan which park to visit each day the next step is to check the official park hours, and most importantly which parks have Extra Magic Hours each day. In order to avoid crowds, we will purposely avoid Extra Magic Hour parks each day.


Based upon that information, this is our basic plan:








Daily Strategy:
Each day we will plan to arrive at the designated park prior to opening (9:00 AM). We arrive at park opening in order to ride the most popular attractions early in the day, before the crowds. Typically we will get FastPasses for the most popular attraction and wait in line at the 2nd most popular attraction as soon as the park opens.


We will then use FastPasses and only wait in lines that are 20 minutes or less as we make our way through the day. We will also mix in attractions that are indoors and air conditioned to avoid overheating.


We will eat lunch in the parks and plan to leave the parks around 2:00 pm to return to our resort.


If we are not able to hit one of our favorite attractions due to long lines, we don't worry about it and just note that we move it up on our list for the next time.


If you are a frequent visitor remember to take the time to check out all of the wonderful live entertainment that goes on in the parks. These are the some of the things that are missed when you are rushing to ride all of the attractions, but they are part of what makes Disney World so special.


It is also a good idea to spend some time enjoying the details of the theming throughout the parks. When you take the time to look, you will be amazed at all you will notice and maybe never even realized was there.



Summary:

Planning ahead is essential to enjoying a Disney World Vacation. You don't need to plan out every minute (and I would strongly advise against it), but a basic plan does help tremendously.

Crowds and the Florida heat can take the fun out of your day if you don't plan ahead. If you are planning a summer trip keep this in mind.


Especially in August you want to make use of the FastPasses to avoid long waits in the hot sun.

If you have a Park Hopper or Annual Pass, you are probably best served by avoiding the Extra Magic Hour Parks (at least during the daytime). You can hop to that park in the evening if you wish to catch some night time attractions.


Lastly, keep your schedule flexible. If the group decides mid-trip that they really don't want a 2nd day at Animal Kingdom, change that day to a different park. The idea is to create an enjoyable and memorable experience for you and your family. By being flexible with your plans it is much easier to accomplish that goal.

• Over 400,000 Walt Disney World guests proudly wore their celebratory Disney Happy Birthday Pin to share their special day this past year.
• Approximately 1,600 couples tie the knot each year at Walt Disney World Resort in various storybook settings throughout property.
• Since September 1991, Walt Disney World Resort has hosted more than 30,000 fairytale weddings.
• The Wedding Pavilion can host up to six weddings per day, and up to 12 weddings can occur each day at various locations on Walt Disney World property.
• Walt Disney World is a honeymooner’s paradise with some 10,000 lovebirds enjoying romantic bliss and fun times at the Vacation Kingdom each year.
• Culinary wizards whip up more than 2,000 decorative wedding cakes a year for couples exchanging vows at Walt Disney World Resort.
• More than 300 soon-to-be-grooms have popped the question --"Will you marry me" at Cinderella’s Royal Table this past year.
• Some 80,000 high school seniors will celebrate graduation during the annual Grad Nite party at Walt Disney World Resort. Disney has hosted the event for 36 years with a variety of acts from KC and the Sunshine Band to Jessica Simpson.
  

Helping people Celebrate their special moments is a daily event at the Walt Disney World Resort. Thousands of people each year choose to do their celebrating at the "Happiest Place on Earth"....and who can blame them!

Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort is the third Disney Vacation Club (DVC) property to open in 2009.

The first was the initial phase of the Kidani Village at the Animal Kingdom Villas. Next came the Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs, and now Bay Lake Tower has opened on August 4th.

Bay Lake Tower (BLT)is a 15 story crescent shaped tower that is added to the 38 year old Contemporary Resort complex that was part of the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort on October 1, 1971.

This resort becomes the first DVC property that is on the Disney World Monorail loop near the Magic Kingdom. The BLT houses 295 two-bedroom equivalent villas decorated in a fashion consistent with the Contemporary Resort's theming.

With its close proximity to the Magic Kingdom, BLT was built to take full advantage of the views. In addition to having many of the villas facing the Magic Kingdom, there is the Top of the World lounge and observation deck, offering sweeping views of Walt Disney World Resort, as well as a unique perspective for the “Wishes” nighttime fireworks spectacular at Magic Kingdom.

Disney’s Contemporary Resort is easily accessed by way of the Sky Way Bridge which takes guests from the 5th floor of Bay Lake Tower directly to the 4th floor Grand Canyon Concourse of Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Here they have close access to the monorail, shopping, and the Contemporary's restaurants, including kid favorite Chef Mickey's.

BLT also has added a new zero entry pool complex including a water slide, separate whirlpool spa and an interactive children’s water feature – all overlooking picturesque Bay Lake.

Here are some interesting facts about the construction of Bay Lake Tower:

• There are 167 miles of post-tensioning cable running through the concrete slabs. These cables could stretch from Bay Lake Tower to Disney’s Vero Beach Resort and back.
• There are 1,398 tons of reinforcing steel, known as rebar, within the structure. This is equal to the weight of 254 full-grown elephants.
• Bay Lake Tower rests on a foundation of more than 800 concrete piles that are 16 inches in diameter and extend 70 feet into the ground. Stacked on top of one another, these would reach more than 10 miles into the sky.

Although Bay Lake Tower is a DVC Resort, anyone can make reservations there, although availability may be limited during certain times.

This is certainly an exciting addition to one of the Walt Disney World Resorts original attractions.

There are changes in the pricing, including a new peak season increase for the Disney Dining Plan. Details are shown below with current 2009 pricing, as well as, new 2010 rates.

Today is two weeks away from our return to the Walt Disney World Resort.

Even frequent visitors like ourselves look forward to each visit. As we get closer to the actual trip other things matter less and more and more time is spent thinking about the trip.

What has been a long planning process of around 9 months in this case is coming to fruition.

Each trip is special and we try to make each one different from any others. Fortunately at Disney World, it is easy to do something new each trip because of all there is to do. There is no fear that we will ever run out of new things to try.

This trip we will get to check out the Animal Kingdom Villa's new Kidani Village area that was recently completed. We are certainly looking forward to checking it out, and it will definitely be a topic of future articles after the trip.

After one night at Kidani Village, we are moving to the Caribbean Beach Resort for the next 6 nights. We had previously expected to spend our entire trip at the Animal Kingdom Villas, but the FREE DINING Promotion proved to be too good to pass up.

Also on our list of new experiences will be to check out the Ft. Wilderness Resort and Campground. Specifically we would like to see the free campfire and sing along with Chip and Dale. Hopefully that will work out. There are so many activities offered at Ft. Wilderness and we would like to get a closer look.

Although the planning process started a long time ago, we try to plan the basic elements, but not plan so much that we feel trapped by the schedule.

For us the pre-trip planning includes:

• Resort reservations
• Decision on Park Tickets
• Dining Reservations (1 sit down meal per day for Free Dining with Disney Dining Plan).
• Look up park hours and Extra Magic Hour Parks.
• Decide on "new" items to check out during upcoming trip.

and that's it! This gives us the basics, but leaves a lot of flexibility to modify based upon the weather or the mood that we are in while we are there.

We spend time deciding what each person wants to see and we enjoy looking up the Restaurant menus to decide what we might each at each restaurant.

It will be two long weeks, but somehow we will persevere and make it to August 15th. The countdown calendar on our computer will help us track down to the hour, how much more we have to wait.

The rest of the world will just have to understand if we are a bit preoccupied over the next two weeks, because WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!