What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando

Coupon clippers, budget travelers and anyone wanting to squeeze a few extra dollars of savings out of their Disney vacation should first check out Mouse Savers (www.mousesavers.com), where siteowner and Disney habitué Mary Waring posts a plethora of tips and current deals to Disney properties and the Orlando area. Be sure to sign up for her free monthly newsletter.

Where to Stay in Orlando

Overall, hotel and motel occupancy climbed to 64.5 percent in the first half of 2003, up from 62.2 percent in 2002, but, in Florida, Orlando still trails Miami, where occupancy was 65.8 percent. Speaking of trailing, Orlando's $90 average room rate ranks fourth in Florida, behind Miami Beach ($116), Miami ($94), and Fort Lauderdale ($91).

Disney's Pop Century Resort (tel. 407/934-7639; www.disneyworld.com), the newest of the inexpensive or, as Mickey calls them "value-class" resorts, is taking reservations for the December opening of some of its rooms. Pop Century will open in two stages, with each stage offering 2,880 rooms. The Classic Years (1950s-1990s) is to open first. It will have five decade-long themes and larger-than-life icons (in this case, Play Doh, a Duncan Yo-Yo, 8-track tapes, and such) similar to those found at its sister properties, the All-Star Resorts. Another similarity: postage stamp-size accommodations. The new resort's six swimming pools have shapes ranging from a crossword puzzle and a soda bottle to a bowling pin and a computer. The resort is across from Disney's Wide World of Sports.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels (tel. 888/828-8850; www.swandolphin.com) have begun redecorating all 2,300 rooms in their 13-year-old hotels, as part of a modernization project directed by Michael Graves, the original architect. Included in the new room design are all-white bed sets. Gone are the more theme-parkish brightly colored sets.

The military's Shades of Green on Walt Disney World Resort (tel. 888/593-2242, www.shadesofgreen.org), closed for a $55-million expansion that will double its room count. It won't reopen until March 1, 2004 -- about two months later than expected.

The smoke-free Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott Grande Lakes (tel. 800/576-5760 or 800/241-3333; www.grandelakes.com) opened in July on a 500-acre tract about five miles east of Walt Disney World. The resorts share a number of amenities, including a 40,000-square-foot spa and an 18-hole golf course. Highlights include the Ritz-Kids children's activity program (swimming, nature walks, Frisbee games, junior tennis, croquette, and more) and the Marriott's 24,000-square-foot Lazy River pool, which takes guests on a slow, winding tropical journey through rock formations and small waterfalls (depth 3-5 feet).

Where to Dine

Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café; in Magic Kingdom is the first Disney quick-service eatery to offer a kosher menu, including hot dogs, hamburgers and honey-glazed corned beef sandwiches (tel. 407/939-3463; www.disneyworld.com)

Disney-MGM Studios has implemented a fixed price for its Fantasmic! dinner packages, which include preferred seating at the nightly show. The cost is $36.99 for adults and $9.99 for kids 3-11 at the Hollywood Brown Derby, $28.99 for adults and $9.99 for kids at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, and $19.99 for adults and $9.99 for kids at Hollywood & Vine (tel. 407/939-3463; www.disneyworld.com).

Attractions

Walt Disney World Park and Attractions

About six months after Universal Orlando and SeaWorld raised single-day ticket prices, Disney increased its admission to a comparable level. It now costs $52 for adults and $42 for kids 3-9 (tel. 407/824-4321; www.disneyworld.com) for a day in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, or Animal Kingdom.

Consumer Reports, which rates everything from cars to appliances, jumped into the tourist fray in June 2003, using the responses of 2,500 people to rank U.S. theme parks based on visitor satisfaction. The results: Epcot was the leader of the pack, followed by Magic Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios in a second-place tie, SeaWorld and Islands of Adventure in third, Animal Kingdom in sixth, and Universal Studios Florida and Busch Gardens tied for ninth.

Epcot's Mission: Space (tel. 407/824-4321; www.disneyworld.com), a motion simulator similar to the ones that NASA uses to train astronauts, opened in July.

Disney has introduced a new kind of tour guide. Pal Mickey is a 101/2-inch-tall digital toy stuffed with all sorts of gizmos that turn him into a sometimes-funny guide that tells guests about parades, show times, and character greetings. Designed for 5 to 10 year olds, the doll's computer chips pick up wireless signals throughout the park. He's available for rent (currently $8 a day) or purchase ($50) and delivers facts and trivia, provides games to keep kids entertained while waiting in lines, and offers park tips, including ride height restrictions. Pal Mickey operates on three AA batteries.

The plug has been pulled on the 2003 holiday edition of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights while Disney-MGM Studios builds a new stunt show, scheduled to open in 2005, at the Christmas extravaganza's former home. The Osborne family is optimistic the show will reopen in 2004 at a new location on New York Street.

The Orlando Devil Rays, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays, are wrapping up their fourth and presumably final season at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. They are not scheduled to return in 2004.

Disneyana, the annual memorabilia convention scheduled for late August in Epcot, has been canceled this year. The 12-year-old event usually draws up to 2,000 collectors. Last year, many grumbled when Disney set prices, rather than letting them bargain. Some said they wouldn't return.

SeaWorld and other Orlando Attractions

Odyssea, a 30-minute Cirque du Soleil-style stage show, opened in July at SeaWorld's Nautilus Theater (tel. 800/327-2424; www.seaworld.com). Park officials say it will combine acrobatics, music, comedy, and special effects within a set that transports guests into an underwater world. Odyssea will replace Cirque de la Mer, which closed in April after a 5-1/2-year run.

The new show at Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament (tel. 800/229-8300; www.medievaltimes.com) adds some new elements, including a princess, a battle of good vs. evil, and a black Friesian stallion, which contrasts with the white Andalusian stallions ridden by most of the characters in the 1,129-seat arena on west U.S. Highway 192. Another highlight of the new show is an original music score recorded by the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

After Dark

Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede Dinner & Show opened in June (tel. 877/782-6733; www.dixiestampede.com). This $28 million venue is similar to the ones the actor and country singer has in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Branson, Missouri; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, although the Orlando arena is slightly larger. The quarter horses, Appaloosas, Belgians, and others performing equines help put on a fun "God Bless the U.S.A." show that opens with an a herd of bison charging around the arena. Any weaknesses in the early themes and songs are forgotten when the fun and games begin, including a rivalry which pits half the audience (the North) against the other half (the South) in a who-can-cheer-and-stomp-the-loudest battle. There's also blue vs. gray competition in a number of offbeat events, including a chicken chase using four kids from the audience, pig races, a game of toilet-seat horseshoes, and more. The vittles (plan to eat with your fingers - they don't give you utensils) include a small rotisserie chicken (whole), a slice of smoked pork tenderloin, a potato wedge, corn on the cob, soup, dessert, and unlimited coffee, tea, or Pepsi -- sorry, there's no alcohol served in Dolly's place. Show times vary, but there is at least one nightly. As Dolly said at the June 18 opening, "It's fun for families and I'm getting' rich on it."

You can order a copy of Frommer's Walt Disney World and Orlando 2004 in our online bookstore simply by clicking here.