Fun Family Travel Vacation

Disney’s California Adventure will have a new attraction that opening this Friday.  The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is being described as a ride that takes you into the scenes of The Little Mermaid.  

The Little Mermaid is a Disney animated movie that went theaters in 1989 to a generation that fell in love with the movie and its musical soundtrack.   Since that time two additional Little Mermaid movies have been released by Disney that went to theaters.  One was a prequel and the other was a sequel of the original Little Mermaid.

Now the ride gives fans to get a ride in the world of Little Mermaid they have been watching for all these years.

Snapfish is running a Disney Vacation sweepstakes that ends on February 28^th One winner has the choice of family vacation to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando or the Disneyland Resort in California.  The vacation for 4 includes air travel, hotels, and park tickets.   You can enter online at : http://promo.snapfish.com/disney/disneymemoriescalendar1.

Adventures by Disney brings families to exotic places and gives them tours and information that would not be able to get if traveling alone.

In a press release the Adventures by Disney Tour to Egypt was described:

Picture arriving in Cairo and embarking on a privately guided tour of the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities with its extensive trove of mummies and ancient artifacts. Families will then take an unforgettable excursion to Giza for an up-close view of the Great Pyramids and the fascinating Pharaoh’s Boat Museum. And what is a trip to Egypt without a camel-ride past the pyramids.

Journey to Southern Egypt with your fellow travelers and highly trained Adventure Guides on a three-day Nile River cruise and visit the riverside towns of Aswan and Luxor, as well as privately guided tours of temple ruins, including pharaohs Tutankhamen and Ramses VI.

Whether discovering how the ancient Egyptians created papyrus or learning how to write their family’s name in hieroglyphics, there is something for everyone regardless of age on this new itinerary, as well as the additional itineraries available through Adventures by Disney.

Families can choose between a 7 night and 9 night tour of Egypt. According to current pricing on the Adventures by Disney website the price for an adult on 7 night tour is $3,999 – $5,249. For that same tour the cost for a child is 3,599 – $4,739. Obviously a trip like this does not come cheap and would cost a bit for a family. It may mean skipping a few other vacations and saving up before you can take this Adventures by Disney vacation.

Disney has seen a large amount of people sign up for their “Give a Day Get a Disney Day” program. . So far, over 600, 000 people have signed-up and number is continuing to grow. Tickets are for admission to a Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme parks. Programs rules require that participants pre-register at disneyparks.com. To volunteer and get the free ticket, participants must be at least 6 years old and there is only one ticket per person. Volunteering as family is great way for your kids to give back and learn the value of hard work. The money you save at the theme park by having all you kids participate and get free Disney tickets is a great bonus.

Disney has new itineraries for Adventures by Disney, its guided tour family experience. 

Known as the Gateway Collection, these itineraries provide guests with more time on their own to explore the destinations and sites at their leisure. In conjunction with the added time, travelers receive the benefits of Adventures by Disney’s highly-trained Adventure Guides who are the concierges for each trip and are always available to provide recommendations and schedule reservations so guests receive the most during their vacation. Additionally, the Gateway Collection features comfortable lodging and is priced as a value option for its select destinations, which makes traveling the world even more affordable.

Departing in summer 2010, these itineraries feature, “Gateway to London and Paris,” “Gateway to Italy” and “Gateway to Costa Rica” with dates in June, July, August and September. Guests may visit www.AdventuresbyDisney.com to learn more about the Gateway Collection vacations

Designed from Adventures by Disney’s current model, the Gateway Collection includes guided group vacations similar to the classic and signature itineraries at a lower cost while also featuring more free time. Guests will enjoy activities available as part of the itinerary, such as climbing the bell tower of Notre Dame in Paris and also have the flexibility to spend the afternoon exploring more of what interests them in the iconic destination at their leisure. Travelers are able to enjoy more options at a value price.

The Gateway Collection may not be inexpensive for most families, but it is priced about $1000 less than the Classic Travel itineraries.    According to the prices  at www.AdventuresbyDisney.com  at the time of publication:

A trip to London and Paris with the Gateway Collection is:

• Adult: $2959
• Child: $2659

A trip to London and Paris with the Classic Vacation is:

• Adult: $3,809 – $4,699
• Child: $3,429 – $4,249

Details of what the packages include is available at the web site.

Disney Cruises have decided to redo the way what kids can eat and activities they can participate in during the cruise vacation. Before activities and food choices were segmented by age group. Now Children can choose the activities and food without the age group restrictions.

On Disney Cruise Line, children can personalize their cruise vacation by selecting activities and events, regardless of age. Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab are open to children age 3 to 12 on the Disney Wonder and age 3 to 10 on the Disney Magic.

While Disney Cruise Line will continue to recommend activities that appeal to specific maturity levels and ages, the entire menu of offerings is open to every child. With this evolutionary approach to shipboard youth activities, children and parents choose programs based on the specific interests of each child to create a customized and very personalized experience. Best of all, children of different ages — siblings, extended family and friends — can participate in youth activities together throughout their cruise.

The majority of children’s events and free-time activities occur within dedicated youth spaces on the ship and on Castaway Cay. As always, Disney Cruise Line youth activities are supervised by specially trained, experienced counselors.

Specific program information is available to guests on the day of check-in at the Youth Activities registration desk located in the Disney cruise ship terminal building prior to boarding, or onboard in the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab.

Source: DisneyCruiseNews.com

Plans are underway for a new Disney theme park in Shanghai, China.  According to the Associated Press, the park will be a lot like the Magic Kingdom with some local Shanghai influences.  Many local companies are welcoming the new theme park for the jobs that it will create during construction and once the park is officially opened.    Plans are still in the works and details have to agreed upon before construction does begin.    This has been something that Shanghai has been anticipating and working towards. Residents that lived on farmland where the Shanghai Disney theme park is set to be built  have been relocated to another area-( This is similar to people being removed from their family homes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics).    This new theme park is not the first for Chin. There is already a Disney theme park in Hong Kong, China.   The Associated Press article did say that guests’ visits to the Disney Hong Kong theme park were not very high.  Maybe the theme park in Shanghai will have a better visitor turn out since it is the largest city in China.