Further Attempts to Lure You to Disney World

As if I need more excuses to want to go.

The common thread lately has been: Disney wants more money! Here's how they're trying to achieve this!

This continues with their theme parks:

Resort Deals: The current deal featured on Disney's page is "Get 3 more FREE when you buy 4 at select Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts," meaning with 4 nights at certain resorts, on certain days, in a certain time frame, you get 3 more nights/day tickets. They estimate the price for this with a traditional family (2 adults, 1 junior, 1 child) at $2,363.

For those that have been saving for a whole family vacation, that seems like an excellent deal.

Park Admissions: Just found out about this, but I guess if you have a birthday on winter break you can still cash in: Free Admission on your birthday.

The most recently announced offer is if you sign up for a legit volunteer organization, you can get a free day at the park starting 2010 in the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promotion.

Park Guides on iPod: Compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch is the newly updated Notecast. It seems to include a ton of content, not just guides, on the parks. "Walt Disney World Secrets Gold!" Notecast on iTunes, $1.99. Will totally be checking this out later when I have appropriate iPod cables.

And finally, the most exciting Walt Disney World news is the new Fantasy Land expansion (pic above enlarged + blueprints here)! It includes Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Mermaid, and Pixie Hollow areas. Personally, more Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid is always good in my book. However I'm surprised they've expanded on the whole Disney Princess theme, when I thought the audience the company was having trouble reaching was younger boys. Also, it's been pointed out that this looks like it goes on top of the current Fantasy Land. While it still includes the carousel and the tea cups, it's hard to tell if Mickey's house is still in there (I hope so, one of my few memories of seeing Disney World when I was somewhere between 3 and 6 y.o. is waiting out hard rains in Mickey's cottage).