When you think of Walt Disney World, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Mickey Mouse? Space Mountain? Fun resorts? Parasailing?

WHAT?!? Parasailing? Yes, parasailing. I'll bet there are dozens of things you can do at the World that you never knew. Here are a few of my favorites.

Parasailing
You can book a parasailing adventure on Bay Lake leaving from the Contemporary Resort.

Horesback Riding
Enjoy a leisurely ride through lush pines at Fort Wilderness.

Segway Tour
There are now 2 locations to experience riding a Segway: Epcot and Fort Wilderness.

Miniature Golf
Now I know you are probably thinking, "I can do that at home." But Disney's 2 courses are like nothing you have seen at home!

Drive a Race Car
At the Richard Petty Driving Experience you can take a spin around the track in a real Nascar race car. Depending on how much you want to spend, you can ride with a professional driver or drive yourself.

        

Ok.  New Year's Resolution:  I am going to blog at least once a week!! Please, hold me to it!  I guess I really haven't found my focus yet but will do so this year.  There are so many great blogs and websites out there about Disney that I sometimes feel inadequate.  I only know I love Walt Disney World.  My favorite thing to do is plan Disney vacations so maybe I will just give you some of my favorite itenararies for various times of the year.

Anyway, I hope your Christmas was very blessed and your New Year prosperous!!

        

There are many ways to avoid the crowds at the World.  I am going to give you my top 3 in a countdown.

#3. Don't Go!  Of course this is not even an option!  So my real #3 way to avoid crowds is to use the FastPass system.  FastPass is Disney's way of jumping to the head of the line.  Insert your admission ticket into one of the FastPass machines at any of the rides that have them and you will receive a FastPass with a time window on it.  Come back during that time window and go straight to the FastPass line.  The FastPass riders are given priority for getting on the ride.  The wait time for returning FastPass riders is usually 5-10 minutes.

There are a few restrictions when using a FastPass.  They must be used within the time frame printed on the ticket and on the same day you received the FastPass.  You are only allowed to hold a limited number of FastPass tickets at one time.  For example, if you get a FastPass for Mission:Space, you must wait until the time printed on the Mission:Space FastPass ticket before you can get your FastPass for Test Track.

#2. Visit the theme parks on their "off" days.  Certain parks are historically busier on certain days of the week. The Magic Kingdom is busiest on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  Epcot's busy days are Wednesday and Friday. For MGM Studios, avoid Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.  And Animal Kingdom is most crowded on Monday, Tuesday and Friday.  I have always planned my visits accordingly and never run into huge crowds.

#1. The very best way to avoid crowds at Disney World is to go in what Disney refers to as Value Season.  The absolute least crowded times at Disney are September and January.  Although the park hours are shortened somewhat at these times, the lack of crowds mean you are able to see just about everything you want without any wait times.  The next best times to go are the first of October up til the week before Thanksgiving and the first couple of weeks in December.  December is a really great time to go since all the Christmas decorations are up and of course on selected dates the Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

The most crowded time at Disney World is the week between Christmas and New Year's.  So if you love being in a crowd, by all means go then!  It is a very festive time and a great Christmas present!

Ok, so I'm a terrible blogger.  But sometimes life just jumps right in front of you and you can't get around it, under it, or over it — you just have to go through it.

Last weekend, my granddaughter Kaylee spent the night.  At 3 years old, she is more than a handful!  The one time I was able to get her to sit still was when we watched my DVR'ed shows about Disney from the Travel Channel.  She sat in my lap and was mesmerized!  "I wanna do that, Mamaw!"  "I wanna go there."  "I wanna be a princess."  And when I asked which princess, she said "Yes".  "Do you want to be Ariel?" "Yes" "Do you want to be Cinderella?" "Yes" "Do you want to be Belle?" "Yes"

I guess when we take her to Disney, she can be a different princess everyday! I feel like she is still a little too young to really enjoy it (and Mamaw is still a little to out of shape to keep up with her!), so we plan to take her October, 2008.  She will be 4 1/2 by then and thanks to Jenny Craig, I should be about 60 pounds lighter! 

One of my best memories of my first trip to the World back in 1994 was Journey Into Imagination.  This was the one everyone longs for: Dreamfinder and Figment. (And yes, I have a stuffed Figment. My granddaughter and I fight over it every time she comes over. I always win!)

To get to the point, the good folks over at Magical Mountain have released a new DVD in honor of Epcot's 25th anniversary. It is Epcot's Journey Into Imagination - 25th Anniversary Collectors Edition.  It is a 2-disc set that is chock full of Disney goodness.

Hop on over there and check it out!

I recently picked up The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom.  This is a book written by the Imagineers who designed and built Disney's Animal Kingdom.  I was there in September, 2006 and I gotta tell you - it was hot!  And I don't mean in a Paris Hilton sort of hot.  I mean the temps were in the 90's and the humidity was horrible and we only stayed for about 5 hours.  The foliage denied any breeze that attempted to cool things down and I was miserable.

HOWEVER - after reading just the first 50 pages or so of this little book, I can't WAIT to get back there in a cooler season.  The attention to detail is amazing!  I didn't even notice when I was there that the various retail outlets are themed to a specific type of animal.  For example, Creature Comforts features animals and insects with spots or stripes.  Zebras, tigers, ladybugs, bumblebees and cheetahs can all be found in or around this shop. 

There is one place in the Tree of Life Gardens that you can peep through the holes that were "bored" by bugs (at least that is the story) and each hole you peep through focuses on a specific animal on the Tree of Life.

After reading through just a part of this book, I really want to get back there and spend alot more time.  Oh, and I'm definitely taking this book with me!

One of the coolest things I have found for Walt Disney World planning is the applications that are available for you if you have a cellphone that can access the web or a PDA. 

PocketDisney has several things that are very useful including a countdown clock for you desktop, maps and park info for download to your PDA, and a toolbar for your browser.

eGuides to Go has a condensed guide to WDW, a live entertainment guide, and menus for iSilo (for Palm, PocketPC, Windows CE and Handheld PC OS), and Plucker format for Palm OS devices.  They also have a version for iPods that have the Notes function.

And finally, for those using TouringPlans.com, you can download those plans to your PDA or SmartPhone using GnoMobile.com.

A great website for planning what to do at Walt Disey World is Steve Soares Entertainment site.  Steve keeps an updated listing of all the showtimes for all the shows at the World, including the street entertainment.  You may find shows you didn't even know existed!

Looking for something to do while standing in line?  Check out Steve Barrett's Hidden Mickey Guide.  He has documented hundreds of hidden Mickeys throughout WDW.

Another great planning guide is Jennifer and Dave Marx's place over at PassPorter.  I took a PassPorter with me on my last trip.  And my Mom was able to decide ahead of time what to ride using the PassPorter's Walt Disney World For Your Special Needs.

And the best way to plan all your dining reservations is at PSCalculator.net.

As a side note, this blog has nothing to do with Disney but the guy is funny with a capital F!

Today, I wanted to share a few of my favorite Disney websites with you.  One of the best is AllEarsNet.  Here you will find photos of all the resorts, including each category of room.  There are also photos of all the different rides and the cars that you ride in.  The site also includes menus from each of the dining locations in Walt Disney World including the prices.  For trip planning, you can't find a more informative spot!

Another great site is The Dis.  This site always has the latest news about what is happening at the World.  There are some great weekly features and one of the best discussion forums you will ever find.

For money-saving ideas, head over to Mousesavers.  They have discount codes as well as tips on keeping your costs down while vacationing.

Tomorrow I will tell you about some of my other favorite websites - these are my top picks for planning what to do at the World!

<< MORE >>

One of my favorite weekly articles about Disney is called Mouse Matters.  It is written by a pediatrician over on The Dis.  Last week (indulge me, I'm a little behind on my reading), Dr. Mike Patrick was asking for stories about the magic of Disney.  His premise is that some of the cast members are slightly less magic-makers than they were before 9/11.  So he is looking for stories that contradict that thought.  If you have a magical story you would like to share with him, you can send it to 101magicalmoments@gmail.com.

One of his other points is that we can share the magic wherever we are: at home, on the job, in our communities.  I am with him 100%!  I vow to share that Disney magic with everyone (whether they want it or not!).