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1. Hours and show times have been drastically curtailed. "Cinderella Surprise" is now down to three morning shows, although that is being done, in part, to allow the cast to rehearse for the "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" show in the afternoon.
2. Schedule changes are occurring suddenly and with little or no warning.  Good advice is to not believe what is in print if it is more than a week old.
3. Most shows are now dark (i.e. not being performed) two days a week, so check schedules carefully.
4. The print runs on park guide maps have been cut to the bone. The parks and the hotels are often running out of them one or two days before the last effective date of the brochure, so when you get your guidemap HANG ON TO IT. It may be the only one you ever get during your stay.  (In some cases, changes have required that information be "stickered-over" by hand, which further reduces available quantities.)
5. Guest service desks at On Property resorts have closed; function has been folded into front desk.
6. Because attendance is down, staffing is at bare minimums. Those who have written in thinking that it'll be quieter will be unpleasantly surprised that the down-staffing causes even more delays and service problems than when the park is really busy.
7. Privately, I can't recommend anyone visit WDW right now because the combination of busy parks (due to low-cost hotel and airfare) and low staffing is causing a lot of pain for those who visit. If you visit, think of it as "Disney Lite."
8. Fantasmic!, running now with only one show, fills up early -- a half an hour to an hour before the performance. Get there early, or just skip it and hope the economy recovers and you can catch it on your next visit.
9. The Fantasmic! dinner package requires that you have dinner as early as 3:20pm because Fantasmic! is being performed at 6pm.
10. Beware of schedule details. Show schedules are different from day-to-day now. Many park visitors have missed shows because their start times are different (usually 1/2 hour either way) on adjacent days.
11. There is an excellent Walt Disney World Transportation Map sponsored by Disney Vacation Club, available at the Front Desk or Bell Desks, for driving around the property. 

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There will be children with us and possibly a group of 10 not including 3 children. Thank you in advance for your help.

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You may want to read through MousePlanet's WDW Restaurant Resource to find out what restaurants are available.

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Just a quick warning for your readers. I just came back from a trip to Epcot this past weekend and Disney has taken Fastpass from the Test Track attraction. One of the cast members said Fastpass would not return to Test Track until after Christmas.

Why would they do this when Test Track is the only thrill ride at this park? We got there shortly after the doors opened at 10AM (it was the first day for Fall operating hours) and there was a 2 hour wait for Test Track! Why remove it and yet keep the Fastpass at the Maelstrom in Norway? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I'm sure Disney has a good reason. Any inside info?

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But since then, I've heard that the Test Track queue is being refurbished to integrate the Fastpass and single rider lines along with the normal, standby line into the main queue.  I would expect that the shutdown of Fastpass may be related to that change. 

It's hardly "inside info," but it may be the right answer.

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Also, regarding another question in that same "Notes" Piece, DisneyQuest in Chicago closed permanently on September 4, 2001. So now DisneyQuest at WDW is the only location.

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I do not know if you knew that the Chicago DisneyQuest has now closed. Lack of attendance did it in... Could it have done better? Probably so, but I believe that management issues at Disney Regional Entertainment (D.R.E.) and a lack of having a champion to really push hard for continued investment / advertisement and business strategy adjustment played a major factor in its demise. It is no coincidence that as D.R.E. pulled out of DisneyQuest-Orlando and had WDW Attractions take over, that attendance (read that revenue) picked up substantially.

Anyway, I just wanted to chime in on the subject.

Oh, by the way, I worked on the DisneyQuest project for 4 years, and was involved in the installation of both sites, and would have been involved in Philly, had the general contractor not gotten into financial problems. There are/were a number of us on the technical/engineering team that really put in the "blood, sweat and tears" on the DisneyQuest project and have been sorely disappointed by the lack of leadership shown both here in California and in Chicago.

Lastly, the GM that Rick refers to in his question is a great person. I know her personally and truly felt that she was hamstrung by D.R.E.

Take care!

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But I'm most concerned about your list of cutbacks including the staggered hours at Epcot. Epcot's hours have been like this for several years. That has nothing to do with the current state of the Disney company. One of the main reasons the hours were staggered was not a cutback at all -- when the wedding's department started they made this request so they could use the pavilions for wedding ceremonies. They have slightly adjusted those hours in the recent cutbacks, as they've done at all the parks. But the way it was written it seems like a recent cutback -- and just one more reason to complain about a company that's trying to put it's employees first (something they've had a hard time doing in the past).

I'll be traveling to Disney in December for my third wedding anniversary. We've upgraded out hotel stay to the Wilderness Lodge and made reservations at Victoria and Albert's. We've also been to New York to see Aida and shop at the Disney Store in the last few weeks. I love the company in good times and bad, so I give to it when it's down so that I get to take full advantage of the good times.

Lastly, I'm not sure if anyone at MousePlanet reported this, but the Disney Vacation Club did something absolutely unexpected and wonderful. We got a package last week with a beautiful card from the vacation club and two Mickey head pins (the ones with stars on one side, stripes on the other). The backs of the pins are engraved "Disney Vacation Club commemorates September 11, 2001." I cried and I've warn the pin almost everyday since it came. A really sweet gesture that they never had to do. Like I said, good times and bad, I give to the company and I always seem to get back.

This buyer is well aware!

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Thanks for mentioning the DVC pins. We got ours and have been wearing them, too.

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It was a pretty good deal. I'm not sure if it's available right now; Disney sells them periodically. Unlike regular Park Hoppers. The Play 4 Days passes do expire--and in a relatively short period of time.

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Can you let us know the room costs and anything else to expect from a cost standpoint.

Also, what exhibits and themes from Disney can the kids expect to enjoy that are not attached with a fee.

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MousePlanet is NOT affiliated with the Walt Disney Company. If you want to get information from Disney, you'll have to contact them directly.

The only information I personally have on Hilton Head is in MousePlanet's Disney Vacation Club Trip Planning Guide on this page.

Sue Holland, another MousePlanet columnist has a couple of pieces, though. You can find them on her index page.

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The only way that I'm aware of for making priority seating arrangements is to call WDW reservations. Check out this page for more information.

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The snow effects are used at WDW's Magic Kingdom during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, a special event that is held in early December.

You can read more about it on this page.

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Brian, Just wanted to let you know about those Free Buffets at a offsite hotel. A reader (Jennifer) of yours was looking into staying at a certain hotel based on if they provided the buffet there.

Please, inform her this is a rather dumb mistake. In the Orlando and Kissimmee area there are PLENTY of places you can go and get a breakfast under $6.00 or $7.00. Shoney's, Waffle House, Ponderosa, etc. The point is, she really should take into consideration the hotel's room size's, pool area, etc. when choosing the hotel.

Since she is staying off site, she will have a car so getting to all the great places to eat in the area will be a snap... and she'll get a much better breakfast than what most hotels provide (just donuts and coffee).

and,

Brian, in response to Chuck's question.  France in Epcot, provides a custom Perfumery service.

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Thanks for both of your notes! I'll share them in an upcoming email piece.

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1. Are there any new tips now that Early Entry has been deleted? (we are going in December / Christmas Week!)
2. What is the schedule for December?
3. Are there any special events during this time? I realize that much of this info is not obtainable to the regular public yet, but I didn't know if you knew anything.

I am very disappointed that Disney has not established the times/schedules/etc. It makes it very hard to plan.

Thank You for your return email.

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Unfortunately, MousePlanet is just as dependent on Disney making up it's mind on scheduling issues as Disney.com is. :) We can't predict what will happen from week to week, because it depends -- not only on crowd levels (like it normally would) -- but also on Disney's internal cost savings goals. We just don't know...

The only suggestion I would have, now that Early Entry has been wiped out, is to make sure you have a good working knowledge of each park layout and what you want to do and see each day. Get that guidemap as soon as you enter the park to see when the shows are scheduled to run. With a good working knowledge of the park and a clear idea of when the shows that you are interested in seeing will run, you can make good decisions as you tour the parks with a minimum of wasted time.

Holidays Around the World, which provides a great taste of how the holiday season is celebrated in the various nations of World Showcase, runs through the end of December. The Candlelight Processional, a special presentation also at Epcot, is scheduled to run through December 29th, too.

Click here to see some awesome WDW pieces that have run on MousePlanet recently!

Click here to check out the rest of Brian's Archive, including all of the previously published "Notes From the World" pieces!

I've always gotten email about the WDW Trip Planning Guide, but since we added the feedback form to the site several months ago, the number of questions has increased dramatically!  I do my best to answer each and every question personally, but I've noticed that a lot of the questions are asked again and again.  The question that one person asks might very well be the question that someone else is wondering about.  Thus this page!

So...I'll post reader email and feedback every once in a while, because the question someone else asks might be the same one you're thinking about yourself!