While at Mouse fest this year my husband Ron and I decide to take the Yuletide Fantasy Tour.

This tour is offered Monday through Saturday late November until December 30.
Advance reservation must be made, they do not do walk up or same day reservations.
Cost was $69.00 per person but there are discounts available, AAA, DVC, AP and Disney Visa. Theme park admission is not required. You must be over 16 and have a photo id.
Tour is wheelchair accessible. We had a gentleman in a wheel chair and he was loaded on and off the bus via the rear door, with so many people entering and exiting the bus nobody had to wait either he or the other guest.
This tour ran from 8.45 until just after noon, so just a little over 3 hours.
No cameras or cell phones are allowed to be used back stage.


We meet up with the group outside Epcot guest relations area. This was the meeting place for a few groups but the cast member made quick work of getting everyone registered and in the correct group. Next name tags and ear pieces were handed out. The air piece is so that you can hear the tour guide with out his having to shout.
We were a large group of forty so we were split up into two groups. Once on the bus we were told the story of mistletoe, while we drove to the back stage area of Epcot’s World Show Case on our nice Disney Cruise line bus. We enter from the backstage area of Morocco and worked our way around world show case to Mexico. As we went through the different countries we were told stories of their holiday traditions and customs. I will be putting to good use the German tradition of giving a newlywed couple twelve Christmas ornaments to ensure a happy marriage, as my nephew will be getting married in Germany next year.
Back on the bus and off to Disney’s Hollywood Studio’s to see Residences Street all decked out with the Osborn’s lights. We were told the story of how when the Osborn family came to see the lights lit the first time they were surprised to see one of their Halloween decorations incorporated into the display. Their purple cat was shipped by mistake but has now become a part of the display, he is moved around each year, and this year he was an ally cat.     
Our guides shared some of their holiday stories and memories with us and they even had us do some singing of carols. Our next stop was the Grand Floridian for a very short stop to see the gingerbread house. It is huge and has lots of hidden Mickey’s. Each of the deluxe resorts has a gingerbread themed lobby and they all smell incredible. Not part of the tour but if you are planning on stopping by the Grand Floridian during the holidays you may want to wait for the evening as outside by the front door the have a cast member roasting chestnuts by an open fire, Hmm sounds like a song, it is very cool.
Back on the bus and off to the Holiday Service warehouse back stage at the Magic Kingdom. While the warehouse is fairly empty it was still cool to see just how big it is , how many extra’s they have and the sign that said “355 days to next set up day” now that is some long term planning.
Next stop was the Magic Kingdom. We entered back stage and went to the tree, each park has a different themed tree and the Magic Kingdom’s is a kids tree with lots of toys .We next wander up main street to see the castle and the Partners statue. We were loaded back on the bus and brought back to Epcot to end our tour. As we were getting off the bus we were each awarded a Yuletide Fantasy pin.
This tour is held no matter the weather, we had very cold and windy weather but I had a client do the tour a few days before and it poured the whole time so be prepared and dress accordingly.
When entering the back stage area’s security will come on board the bus and do either a bag check or ask to see your photo id. You will not be allowed to go on the tour without your photo id.
I really enjoyed this tour and found it to be very informational and fun. Our guide was telling us that they may change the tour to a night time tour and include a dinner package with it. Now that would be awesome because you are doing a tour to see the holiday decorations but you can’t see the lights lit up.
Brenda Verrico

BrendaV@MEI-Travel.com

While at Mouse fest this year my husband Ron and I decide to take the Yuletide Fantasy Tour.

This tour is offered Monday through Saturday late November until December 30.
Advance reservation must be made, they do not do walk up or same day reservations.
Cost was $69. < more... >

Well another Mousefest has gone by in a blur!  It always goes by so fast with so much packed into those crazy days!   Here is a quick recap of a few of the highlights for me.  While some of you were getting ready to board the Wonder for the Mousefest cruise I was in Downtown Disney waiting to meet Jim Shore.  In case you don’t know who he is he is an artist that does some adorable folk art.   I just love the Tinkerbells that he does so that is my new collection.   He too was headed to the Wonder.   I was starting to feel like I was the only one not cruising this year.

I kept myself busy while most of you were enjoying the cruise.  Finally came time for Mousefest 101 at the Comtemporary!    The weather didn’t want to cooperate but the event seemed to be very well attended anyway.   Luckily the weather cleared, and even though a little cooler than I prefer, Friday was a beautiful day.   I had been looking forward to the WDW Today 500th episode for a long time and then was mad at myself becasue I forgot my camera.   Luckily Michelle had hers and was nice enough to send me a photo to inlcude, even though I think Annette would prefer she hadn’t.  It was very cool to be a live studio audience for the show and even add in the "ding" sound effect.  Plus we had one of the best cakes I ever had in Disney!   Good choice Annette!

Friday night was our first dessert party for Illuminations.  It was great to meet our clients face to face.   There was an amzing full moon and clear sky that night.   Agian wish I had my camera but oh well.   On to Saturday and the Mega Meet.   This year it was held in the Yacht Club convention center which was super!   Everything seemed to go smoothly and before I knew it the mega meet was over and it was time to get ready for another dessert party!   Sunday morning I got up and headed to the Studios for the AP tour of American Idol.   Ok I have to admit I have never wathed that show and it really threw me off when Disney announced they were adding it to the park since it isn’t on a Disney owned channel.   From the outside it does seem to fit very well in the park though.

    Supposedly AP holders are the first to get to tour this new attraction, they said even media havent seen it yet.   Therefore no photos inside, which made me feel better since I forgot my camera anyway.   The tour was cool and took us through the area where guests will go to audition - I will never see that area again since I can’t sing to save my life.  Supposedly it all looks just like it does on the show but I will have to take thier word on that.   Then we went into the theater where the grand finale will be.   There are 3 hidden mickeys in the stage but I only found one in the short time we were in there.  So each day there will be about 7 guest chosen to sing in the grand finale and the audience will get to vote for the winner.  The winner then gets a sort of fastpass to take to the actual show auditions.   They wont automatically get on the show but they do get to the front of the audition line.   While Disney is letting anyone age 14 and up do the show in the park the real Amercian Idol has specific age range so if a winner doesnt fit that they can give thier ticket to someone else.  Even though I am not a fan of the TV show I am looking forward to seeing at least one of the shows in the park.

      It was great meeting old friends and making new ones at another wonderful Mousefest.   I hope you are all recovering and now getting ready for the crazy holidays.   Can’t wait to see you all and do it all again next year!

Well another Mousefest has gone by in a blur!  It always goes by so fast with so much packed into those crazy days!   Here is a quick recap of a few of the highlights for me.  While some of you were getting ready to board the Wonder for the Mousefest cruise I was in Downtown Disney waiting to meet Jim Shore. < more... >

I was so excited when I read that Disney was inviting four legged family members to meet Santa at Downtown Disney this year!   We added Oswalt, a mini dachshund, to our family in February this year and life hasn’t been the same since.   Oswalt spends most of his day sleeping in my lap while I work at the computer.   I usually feel bad when we have to leave him home while we go play in the parks so getting to bring him to Downtown Disney was great!  Oswalt had a lot of fun checking out all of the fun things at Downtown Disney, including many other dogs.   It seems that we were not the only ones excited about Disney allowing man’s best friend to join the fun.   There was a  doggie comfort station with water and pooper scooper bags set up.   I think as long as everyone can show they are responsible for thier pets Disney should make a year round thing.     

Santa wasn’t the only fun photo op.  Here are some of the other fun photos we got.  

Also stay tuned for more of Oswalt’s travels!   I hope to have a few blogs on traveling with or without your pets.   Until then I hope everyone has a Happy Howliday!

I was so excited when I read that Disney was inviting four legged family members to meet Santa at Downtown Disney this year!   We added Oswalt, a mini dachshund, to our family in February this year and life hasn’t been the same since. < more... >

So today is the start of MouseFest 2008. People got on a cruise ship and have sailed off to ports unknown well known. And I’m not on the ship.  I won’t get to sit in either of my standard seats at the Castaway Air Bar or the Heads Up Bar. I won’t get to share a cheese plate with my friends in the Cadillac lounge. I’ll miss Deb effortlessly finding some new personal “hot button” of mine that I don’t even know exists and then pushing it to her hearts content for the entire cruise (I swear it’s like having a sister from a previous life when she’s around). And I’ll miss all of those things.

Nor will I be at Disney World in four days when that kicks off. I’ll miss the Dessert parties, my standard beer at the Rose and Crown. The rides. The characters. The friends. Oh the friends we’ve made, mostly thru Beci, that we get to see at Mouse Fest. Matt, Mike, Mike, and Len – the WDW Today guys. Deb and the rest gang from AllEars.net. Lou Mongello (clever how I got both URLs in there for Lou ). Not to mention Linda, Amy, Mark, Steve, and the rest – too many to list here. And of course the entire MouseFan.Travel team (Yes, that’s a valid URL). And I’ll miss all of those people.

But mostly I miss my wife. 11 years ago, on the 6^th of December we got married in Las Vegas and then headed directly to Walt Disney World. By chance, MouseFest almost always disrupts out anniversary. We’ve talked about getting divorced and remarried at a less busy time of the year just so we could have a chance to be together on our anniversary. This year it doesn’t matter, as I’m half a world away from MouseFest, across the international date line, in Singapore. I think I’d rather just have a refresher wedding at Disney World (or perhaps Disneyland Paris, which I’ve developed an odd affinity for…).

So if you’re at MouseFest this year, land or sea, and you read this and then see Beci, tell her Chris says happy anniversary.

So today is the start of MouseFest 2008. People got on a cruise ship and have sailed off to ports unknown well known. And I’m not on the ship.  I won’t get to sit in either of my standard seats at the Castaway Air Bar or the Heads Up Bar. < more... >