Disney announced Saturday that they will be closing the Pleasure Island complex in the Downtown Disney area on September 27, 2008. Disney says they are catering to the requests of their guests for more dining and retail options in the Downtown Disney complex. Additionally, they have indicated that they will be adding a tethered balloon attraction, similar to one at Disneyland Paris. The clubs that will be affected by this closing are:

• Adventurer's Club
• BET SoundStage Club
• Comedy Warehouse
• 8 Trax
• Mannequin's Dance Palace
• Motion

I have included video of the announcement from Attractions Magazine's blog. You may also want to go check them out, as they have posted some of the conceptual art from the new plans for Pleasure Island.

One of the club's that held a special place in our hearts is the Adventurer's Club. This is true of many Disney fans. In fact, a petition site has already started collecting signatures to stop the closing of the Adventurer's Club. If you want to keep this club around, think about going over and signing the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/wdwaclub/

After much anticipation, Disney-Pixar's WALL-E will open in theaters, today! WALL-E has made prior appearances in Pixar's previous movies and in malls across America, this summer. Now, it's time for his feature debut!

WALL-E stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth-class. WALL-E is part of the clean-up crew here on Earth, 700 years in the future. His job is to take big piles of trash and crush them down to manageable sized cubes for disposal, making the Earth clean enough for human habitation, again. Of course, the movie turns into a love story when EVE, a newer model robot, comes to Earth for an inspection and WALL-E falls for her. Hi jinx and adventures follow until the end.

Critics have widely acclaimed Disney-Pixar's latest release, saying that the standard of animated movies has been once again raised. Aside from the official critics, the real "critics," our kids, anxiously await the arrival of WALL-E to their own big screens! We will be in the theaters, today with our own two "critics" with what will surely be throngs of other micro-critics enjoying the latest from Disney-Pixar!

Just a reminder that this weekend is the last weekend of the 2008 Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It has been a fun year with lots of events and celebrity/character opportunities for guests. All of this fun and frivolity will be ending with "Hyperspace Hoopla," a character-filled dance party that highlights the end of "Star Wars Weekends" day at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Part of this party includes Darth Vader and a cast of stormtroopers performing Michael Jackson's Thriller video, as shown in the picture above (© Disney. All rights reserved.).

Star Wars Weekends for 2008 began last weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  We took the opportunity to go down on Friday and take some video of all the festivities for our fans to enjoy.  You will see character experiences with Darth Vader, stormtroopers, and an Ewok.  There is also some video of the Tatooine Traders store in the Star Wars area at Disney's Hollywood Studios where you could buy a completely custom light sabre replica!

The event included visits with actors from the six Star Wars movies. On the Friday we attended the event, Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), Daniel Logan (Young Boba Fett), and Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok) were the celebrity appearances that included autograph sessions with each actor. Warwick Davis will host all four weekend events, including hosting the Stars of the Saga Talk Show.

Additionally, the number of character experiences was unreal. The following characters will make appearances throughout the event.

Jedi Mickey
Leia Minnie (New for 2008)
Vader Goofy (New for 2008)
Stormtrooper Donald (New for '08)
Queen Amidala
Aurra Sing
Boba Fett
Cantina Band
Chewbacca
Clonetroopers
Darth Maul
Darth Vader
Ewoks
Jango Fett Jawas
Princess Leia
Luke Skywalker
R2-D2
Shaak Ti
Stormtroopers
Tusken Raiders
Zam Wesell

Make sure to get to Disney's Hollywood Studios before this event passes you by!

The planners and organizers for MouseFest 2008 at the Walt Disney World Resort have released the Park Day schedule. This will determine the location of MouseFest activities and probably your Advanced Dining Reservations during the week. Can you believe it's only about six months away?! Here is the schedule:

Thursday 12/11/2008: Magic Kingdom (Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is optional in the evening)
Friday 12/12/2008: Disney's Animal Kingdom/Disney's Hollywood Studios
Saturday 12/13/2008: Mega Mouse Meet/Epcot
Sunday 12/14/2008: Magic Kingdom (Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is optional in the evening)
Monday 12/15/2008: Disney's Hollywood Studios/Epcot

For the "split days" (Friday and Monday), activities will start in one park and transition to the other. There will probably be simultaneous/overlapping events in both parks during the early afternoon on those days, so if you want to make lunchtime Advance Dining Reservations, choose your preferred park and restaurant now, rather than wait until the final event schedule has been posted (sometime in October).

MouseFest dates for 2008: Cruise - 12/7-12/11/2008 Walt Disney World 12/11-12/15/2008

Please remember to think of our travel partner, Destinations in Florida, when booking your resorts, dining, cruises, and tickets for MouseFest 2008.

Disney's Magic Your Way Packages are a great way to get free perks on your Disney World vacation.  One of the free perks is a round of miniature golf at one of the Disney Miniature Golf Courses.  This perk recently changed to include a round of golf for just (1) person in your room.  In the past it included a round of minituare golf for everyone.  This coupon now just includes a round of golf for just (1) person in your room.  The other people playing will have to pay for the round of miniature golf.  It is still a good perk, since it is free!

For more discounts and information on planning a Disney World vacation, check out the Insider's Guide to Disney World.

Any easy way to save time during your Disney World vacation is by staying at a Disney World Resort Hotel.  Disney World Resort guests can take advantage of the free services called Magical Express.  These services include transfers from the Orlando International Airport to your Disney Resort and baggage handling.  The baggage handling services are a great timesaver during your vacation.  Disney will pick up the luggage from the Baggage Claim area at the Orlando International Airport and deliver it to your Disney Resort about 2-3 hours after you check in at the Resort Front Desk.  This one service will save you about 30 minutes at the airport waiting for your luggage at Baggage Claim.  Plus, it will save you stress, energy, and money transporting your luggage from Baggage Claim to transportation to your resort room.  This one great service is free if you are staying at a Disney World Resort.  Just one more reason, Disney Resorts are a great hotel for your next Disney World vacation!

Apparently there have been some recent sightings of a real-life Wall-E in places like Philadelphia and Los Angeles (hat tip: The Disney Blog). What many of you may not realize is that there have been numerous Wall-E sightings throughout the history of Pixar. The video below shows the many times that Pixar fans could have seen Wall-E in other Pixar films.

This video only shows the few sightings of Wall-E that these Pixar fans found in Cars, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Toy Story. We are sure there are more out there. Can you find some? Let us know if they missed some, so we can follow Wall-E on his many adventures on his way to his own big screen feature.

Last week we talked about saving money on a Character Dining Experience.  This week we want to talk about saving time with a Character Dining Experience.  A Character Dining Experience is a fantastic way to enjoy great food and spend time with your favorite Disney Characters.  There are usually 3-4 Characters at each Character Dining Experience.  These Characters can range from the Disney Princesses at Norway or Mickey, Pluto and Goofy at Chef Mickey's.  Each restaurant features different Disney Characters.  The easiest way to save time on your Disney World vacation is by scheduling at least one Character Dining for your family.  You will get quality time with your favorite Disney Characters without the lines at the Disney Theme Park and crowds.  You can get several of your kid's autographs in one spot while you sit and enjoy a delicious meal. 

Always book your Character Dining Experiences before you leave for your Disney World vacation.  These restaurants do book up early.  If you wait until you arrive to Disney World, you may not be able to get into your favorite restaurant or you may have a 60-90 minute wait.  Be sure to always book your Character Dining before your leave for Disney World!

When you schedule your Character Dining, plan your meals at off times.  Most people tend to eat breakfast around 9 AM, lunch at 12 noon, and dinner at 5:30-6:00 PM on a Disney World vacation.  You can save some time waiting for your table, by planning a breakfast for the first seating at 7:30 AM or a dinner at 8 PM.  If you plan your meals at off times, you will have less waiting time once you check in with the host/hostess at your restaurant.

Disney has several restaurants at the Disney Theme Parks that offer Character Breakfast.  Even though the parks open at a certain time, the restaurants at these Disney Theme Parks open earlier for breakfast.  If you schedule a breakfast before the park opens, you can enter the park before the gates open for everyone else.  If you plan your breakfast early enough, you can get a jump start on the park when the gates open.  You will already be in the parks and can get that start before everyone else.

The Character Dining Experiences at Walt Disney World are a wonderful way to spend time with your family and your favorite Disney Characters.  Plan ahead of time and you can save time on your vacation with these simple tips on Character Dining.

For more tips on saving time and money on a Disney World vacation, purchase our Insider's Guide to Disney World.

Disney offers an amazing opportunity to meet your favorite Disney Characters during a Walt Disney World vacation.  This opportunity is called a Character Dining Experience.  There are several restaurants at the Disney Theme Parks and Disney World Resorts that offer Character Dining.  These are great ways to spend time with your favorite Disney Characters from Mickey Mouse to Cinderella.  Each restaurant features several favorite Disney Characters in one restaurant.  You enjoy quality time with your favorite Characters as they stop by your table to sign autographs and take pictures with your family.  The Character Dining Experiences are a little more expensive than a typical sit down meal.  There are several ways to still save money on a Character Dining Experience.

An easy way to save money is plan on enjoying a breakfast instead of a lunch or dinner with the Characters.  The breakfast experience is the same except you will enjoy breakfast menu instead of a lunch or dinner menu.  A Character Breakfast is about $9-11 less per person than a Character Dinner.  This is an easy way to save a little money on Character Dining. 

Another way to save some money is planning a later breakfast.  Many of the restaurants offer an all-you-can-eat buffet.  If you plan a later breakfast, you can combine breakfast and lunch and then have a light snack later in the day.  Since you can eat as much as you want, most guests that have a late breakfast are full the rest of the day. 

If you have little Princesses that want to eat with Cinderella, plan a dinner for 1900 Park Fare at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort instead of Cinderella's Royal Table at Magic Kingdom Park.  Since 1900 Park Fare is a newer Character Dining Experience, many guests are not familiar with this restaurant.  This restaurant features an all-you-can-eat buffet with Cinderella and her Royal Family.  Cinderella's Royal Table at Magic Kingdom is much more expensive than 1900 Park Fare.  If you are not on the Dining Plan, plan your dinner with Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare instead of Cinderella's Royal Table.  If you are on the Disney Dining Plan, it requires (2) sit down meals instead of just (1) sit down meal at 1900 Park Fare.  You would get an extra meal by eating at 1900 Park Fare instead of Cinderella's Royal Table. 

If you booked the Disney Dining Plan, enjoy your Character Dining in the evening for dinner.  For you, the better value is using your sit down meal for dinner.  Since dinner is more expensive, you will get more value with your Dining Plan for this meal.

The Character Dining Experiences are memories that will last a lifetime for your family and friends.  This is a great way to mingle with your favorite Disney Characters without the crowds of the parks.  You can enjoy these meals, but still save a little money if you pre-plan your vacation.  We always suggest booking your restaurant reservations, before leaving for your Disney World vacation.  For more guidance, contact MouseDine to plan your restaurant reservations.