Face it, you are just like everyone else, and can admit to the following 2 things about Disney Dollars:
You have a few at home, either sitting in a drawer or a scrap book
You thought they had been stopped long, long ago
Disneyland introduced Disney Dollars in early 1987, while Walt Disney World introduced them later that year, Eventually, they could be used at Disneyland, Disney World, on a Disney Cruise at at all Disney Stores, plus probably a few more places. Face it, the idea was brilliant. You gave Disney a real dollar in exchange for a fake dollar that was only good at Disney. Many people purchased them for souvenirs or gifts, and many of those purchased pieces of paper never made their way back to Disney.
Recently, Disney has not advertised that Disney Dollars still existed, as they came up with a better replacement, Disney gift cards. Just as with Disney paper money, Disney Gift Cards are only good at Disney, and many of those gift cards or lost or never returned. You can even buy themed Disney gift cards throughout the year at such events as the Ecpot Flower and Garden Festival, Epcot Food and Wine Festival and other events. Even Aulani and the Disney Cruise have their very own cards.
Think about the physical Disney Dollars for a minute, there must be a significant cost to print new Disney Dollars, as they must contain many security features as to not be counterfeited. Disney Gift Cards on the other hand are much more secure, can be sold at thousands of places outside of Disney, and are much easier to spend, have you ever tried to pay for something online with a Disney Dollar? Disney abandoned Disney Dollars years ago, and I am sure they have just been selling remaining stock. The $1 Disney Dollar has not been updated since 2005!
Disney Dollars exist, and you can still buy them. To clarify, Disney Dollars are available today, but will no longer exist as of Saturday, May 14, 2016. If you want to grab some Disney Dollars as souvenirs, get yourself to a Disney park ASAP, you only have a few days. You can also order them by calling Disney at (407) 566-4985. While I will be sad to see Disney Dollars go, everyone pretty much thought they were gone long ago.
Each Friday, I provide 5 Disney things all Disney fans should know from this past week, just in case you missed them. Here are the super important Disney news items for this week:
Disney Free Dining Released for Walt Disney World
For the 11th year, Walt Disney World has released their Free Dining discount for Fall dates. The current travel dates are August 23 – October 1, November 15 – 21, November 26 – 28 and December 10 – 21, 2016. You must check in on one of those travel dates in order to qualify. For 99% of Disney vacationers, this is the best deal of the year.
In addition, Walt Disney World also released a Free Dining discount for Disney VISA cardholders as well. It is the exact same discount, however, additional dates are available (August 14 – 22 were added) and there is typically better availability with the Disney VISA offer.
Act quickly, most dates are already sold out with the discount.
Walt Disney World Summer Savings Offer
In addition to the Free Dining discount, Walt Disney World released another discount, the Late Summer Savings offer. This covers dates from August 1 – November 5, 2016. If your dates are not covered by the Free Dining deal, or you happen to be staying in a deluxe resort, this offer may be a good deal for you. You can save as much as 30% off of your Walt Disney World Resort.
Disney After Hours Discounts
Several weeks ago, Walt Disney World announced a new night time event at the Magic Kingdom called Disney After Hours. The $150 event gives you three hours in a basically empty park, including free drinks and Mickey ice cream. For the remaining events, both Disney Vacation Club members and Walt Disney World annual passholders can receive 50% off of the ticket cost. Tickets can be purchased at any Walt Disney World ticket window.
Disney Beach Club Remodel
Walt Disney World has completed the remodel of the rooms at the Beach Club Resort, and they look fantastic. The Beach Club is my favorite resort, by far the best pool on property, fantastic rooms and a great location next to Epcot and the Boardwalk. This remodel now makes it even better Check it out!
Autopia Reopens at Disneyland
Autopia has been closed for nearly a year, and finally opened this week, now powered by Honda. The Autopia cars have been completely redone and are ready to take you on a journey around Tomorrowland.
Did I miss any Disney news this week that should have been included?
As a Disney travel agent, I meet all sorts of clients. Many go to Disney every year on vacation, some even several times a year, others are headed for their first visit. Some travel in large family groups, others travel alone. No two clients are ever the same. What often sticks out is their Disney attitude. When you tell a child they are going to Disney, they are full of excitement and wonder, you can see it plain as day. But for some reason with many adults, it just doesn’t work that way. I don’t know if it is the stress of trying to create the perfect vacation for your family, the money that you have to spend to experience Disney or something else entirely, but for some, a Disney vacation ends up being more about work than vacation.
Maybe we need to step back for a minute from our planning calendars and decide exactly what we want to get out of our next Disney vacation. My parents used to take me to Disneyland nearly every year for Summer vacation. I never remember the days where my mom planned every minute perfectly so we were able to ride the maximum number of rides and see all the parades. I do remember the day when it poured all day and we just decided to “go for it”. I remember the day my brother Matt was lost for 10 hours and we looked for him while he was riding the rides. I remember my parents letting me stay at Disneyland with my sister until after midnight when I was about 12.
While you are planning your next Disney vacation, remember that your kids are not going to remember everything that you tried to squeeze into the day, but they are going to remember the fun you had together.
Think back to the time when Walt was planning Disneyland.
The idea for Disneyland came about when my daughters were very young and Saturday was always Daddy’s day with the two daughters. So we’d start out and try to go someplace, you know, different things, and I’d take them to the merry-go-round and I took them different places and as I’d sit while they rode the merry-go-round and did all these things – sit on a bench, you know, eating peanuts – I felt that there should be something built where the parents and the children could have fun together. So that’s how Disneyland started. Well, it took many years… it was a period of maybe fifteen years developing. I started with many ideas, threw them away, started all over again. And eventually it evolved into what you see today at Disneyland. But it all started from a daddy with two daughters wondering where he could take them where he could have a little fun with them, too. – Walt Disney
The actual park bench from the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles, where Walt Disney first dreamed of Disneyland.
A place where the parents and children could have fun together. Think of your last Disney vacation, when you were stressing over your daily Disney agenda, were you having fun? Were your kids?
The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place for people to find happiness and knowledge. It will be a place for parents and children to share pleasant times in one another’s company; a place for teachers and pupils to discover greater ways of understanding and education. Here the older generation can recapture the nostalgia of days gone by, and the younger generation can savor the challenge of the future. – Walt Disney
Maybe a bit of that happiness and knowledge can also come from a bit of spontaneity. While Disney does require some planning considering fast passes, dining reservations, show times, etc., much of the day can be left open to “chance”. I have discovered we have the best Disney trips when I leave much of the planning up to my kids. I let them choose our fast passes, which parades and shows they want to see, where they want to make dining reservations, and then when we are in the parks, I let them decide where we are going, which rides to ride, where you eat lunch, etc. It makes for a much less stressful vacation on my part, and my kids have a blast.
To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past… and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America… with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world. – Walt Disney
The Disney theme parks are supposed to let us escape the “real” world and enjoy a world of fantasy. Let’s all take a step back from our obsessive Disney planning, our insistence that our families follow our Disney agenda regardless of what they want to do or what is going on around them, and enjoy our time in these fantastic places with our family and friends.
Mouseketrips is a full-service travel agency, with one big difference, we only do Disney. No fees ever, we promise to give you a better Disney experience at a cheaper price.
