Disney Specials

Magic in a Box
AAA members who book AAA Vacations Discovery Magic, Deluxe Magic, and Grand Plan packages will receive a new benefit! Magic In a Box. Guests will receive their box of goodies (one per booking) at check-in. Offer valid for new bookings only. (While supplies last.)

Fireworks viewing as seen through the eyes of a child…
Recently a little girl, viewing Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks with her family in the AAA exclusive viewing area was overheard saying “Mommy-this is the best part of our vacation!” Many of our area clients feel that way when they see Tinkerbell flying right over their heads! The AAA exclusive viewing area is a benefit for our members who purchase the Discovery Magic, Deluxe Magic, and Grand Plan packages through our AAA offices. You receive a voucher with your documents and you can make a reservation for the evening you would like to attend. This benefit saves as much as two hours time waiting and you will really love the VIP treatment. The Magic Kingdom viewing area is exclusive to AAA.

MGM Studios Scoop:
Try out the new Who Wants to Be a Millionaire attraction, located on Soundstages 2 and 3 and seats 637 guests. Guests in the hot seat will compete for various prizes as the audience plays along using individual keypads. The million-dollar prize will be a leather jacket and a trip to New York to meet Regis Philbin.

Restaurant Review: The Cape May Café
The Cape May Café at Disney’s Beach Club Resort is a must for anyone who enjoys a buffet-style clam bake with the best clam chowder to be found this side of New England. In fact, legend has it that the Disney chefs use a secret recipe from the New England area, passed down from generation to generation. Disney’s traditional clam bake calls for assorted clams, mussels, potatoes, corn on the cob, steak, Italian sausages, and more, baked all day long in a covered pit lined with red-hot coals. This is the type of fare served at the Cape May Café from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm every night and costs $19.95 for adults and $9.50 for children. The next time you are heading to Epcot, eat at the Cape May Café and then walk to Epcot in time for Illuminations.

Epcot Update: Test Track
The Test Track queue area is getting a major redesign. Currently only FASTPASS holders get to experience all the special effects and scenery inside the building. The new plan has three lines– FASTPASS, stand-by, and single riders, all entering the building. Get your FASTPASS for Test Track early in the day. Check out Test Track for late operating hours. When the Fast Pass area of the attraction closes early, the attraction itself stays open until 10:00 p.m. to accommodate riders. This may be a great chance to ride the attraction as a single rider.

Good News For Disney Bus Transportation
Beginning this spring, Disney will be assigning cast members to bus stops at each of its resorts during peak morning hours to help improve transportation to the theme parks. The cast members will monitor the lines and communicate with a transportation coordinator who will dispatch buses where they are needed most. A similar program stations Disney cast members at the theme parks around closing time.

Polynesian Resort Renovation
The Polynesian Resort is completing a major upgrade to its main pool. In fact, the old pool is gone. The centerpiece of the new pool area will be a large 100-ft.
volcano with a waterslide, large waterfall, pool bar and grotto area. A volcanic geyser located behind the Great Ceremonial House (main building) will feed the pool, which is three times the size of the old one. This entire area should be completed sometime in the summer of 2001.

100 Year’s of Magic Celebration
This celebration focuses on the achievements of Walt Disney during the year in which he would have been 100 years old. Disney-MGM Studios will be the focal point of the 100 Year’s of Magic Celebration. The icon for this celebration is believed to be the giant Sorcerer Mickey hat with Mickey’s glove coming up from the ground. This “celebration” icon is under construction in front of the Great Movie Ride. The hat will be 122 ft. tall and should be completed by October 1, 2001.

Each park will get a new parade for this celebration. The MGM Studios parade will be called ShowBiz Magic or Disney’s Startacular. The Magic Kingdom’s parade will be called Once Upon a Dream and will feature large snow globes full of Disney Characters. Epcot and Animal Kingdom will also have parades during the 100 Year’s of Magic Celebration. The 100 Year’s of Magic Celebration will begin on October 1, 2001and end December 31, 2002.

Magic Kingdom Notes
SpectroMagic has returned to the Magic Kingdom to replace the Main Street Electrical Parade, which ended on April 1. Be sure to check out this parade as some of the special effects have changed. The Hall of Presidents will be closed until October 1, 2001 to rehab the attraction and add President Bush to its lineup. Peter Pan’s Flight and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad are the latest attractions to be added to the FASTPASS system. For guests choosing to use FASTPASS, the system is acti-
vated when a guest runs his/her theme park admission ticket through a turnstile, which reads the ticket and prints out a second ticket with a one-hour return window. If the guest returns any time during the designated hour, he or she is able to proceed directly to the attraction pre-show or boarding area with little or no wait.

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Published in the June 2001 issue of the AAA Traveler.