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<< Introduction >>

Can you believe it’s February already? Surely those of you buried in snow hope Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction for an early spring was correct. I bet a Disney vacation to sunny Florida or southern California sounds perfect right about now.

The Year of a Million Dreams Press Event was held last month, and our very own webmaster was invited to attend. JohnY did such a great job presenting us the scoop as it happened, and you can still read all about it in the INTERCOT News forum. We’ll cover some of those announcements in this issue, along with other upcoming park events. And as always in this first issue of the month, we’ll find out what’s happening on the INTERCOT Discussion Boards. Let’s get to it!


<< Coast to Coast Disney with Mel  >>

- Disney Cruise Line Returns to the West Coast  -
Disney Cruise Line announced today that the Disney Magic will return to the West Coast for the summer of 2008 to once again offer its highly popular seven-night Mexican Riviera sailings. Beginning May 25, 2008, the Disney Magic is scheduled to sail 12 consecutive seven-night cruise vacations from the Port of Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. For details on these and other destinations contact INTERCOT's Official Travel Agency, Magical Journeys at 1-570-785-3283, or visit their web site and fill out a quote form.

This is great!! Just sent in my quote request to Karen at MJ! - marlyn

 Details & Discussion

- "Toy Story Mania" Details Announced -
Toy Story Mania, an interactive new ride, is coming to Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World and Disney's California Adventure at Disneyland. The attraction will have a 2008 opening and mark the first time an attraction has been designed and built simultaneously in both parks. "Toy Story Mania!" will set a new standard for the interactive ride/game technology pioneered in the "Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters" attraction. Guests of all ages will don 3-D glasses and hop into fancifully decorated "Toy Story Mania!" vehicles. While riding along a colorful, midway-themed route, they will shoot at animated targets using their own "toy cannons," scoring points in a series of energetic, fun gaming sequences featuring Woody, Bo Peep and the rest of the gang from Toy Story.

I still love Toy Story and was hoping they would do more with it! – lovemykaitlyn

Everything else looks great and as a HUGE Toy Story fan I can't wait for the new attraction to open.  - Surfer Stitch

 Details & Discussion

- 2007 Star Wars Weekend Dates Released -
Once again, the power of the Force and the magic of Disney combine for the family-friendly fan-fest, scheduled for four consecutive weekends, beginning June 1, 2007 and running through June 24, 2007, at Disney's MGM Studios. The event includes special parades, trivia games, meet-and-greet sessions with Star Wars legends and characters and special themed activities. The weekend festivities take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and are included with regular theme park admission.

I'm so glad we get to be there for this, my DH will be very excited! – January-2007

Woo hoo!  It was nice of them to move the weekends to match my vacation. – dpamac

Take all of your money -- tons of merchandise to buy. – Scott C

Details & Discussion

- Disneyland Resort Food and Wine Weekends 2007 -
Celebrate the palate pleasing flavors of California cuisine and spirits as the Disneyland® Resort plays host to a food-lover's festival that showcases the diverse tastes of the Golden State. Join celebrity chefs, noted sommeliers and fellow culinary connoisseurs in a series of demonstrations, seminars, and epicurean adventures that will have your mouth watering every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from April 27 — May 20, 2007. 

More Information


<< Across the Boards with Figment! >>

Welcome Back to Across the Boards. The INTERCOT Discussion boards are a large and ever changing medium. To assist in our Guests being able to find important information, the Staff “sticks” some threads to the top of each forum. These threads have been selected to either draw Guests attention to important info and/or create a single place for Guests to find a reoccurring topic. While some threads are only stuck for a certain period of time, others have become a permanent fixture of their forum being updated on a regular basis. Let’s take a quick look at some of these omnipresent threads that could help you better plan your next vacation.

Forum: Accommodations
Updated: Added when booking is available, removed when booking ends
Description: While no single thread stays at the top of the accommodations forum, you can almost always find some sort of discount thread stuck there. When hunting for a discount for your vacation, make sure you check the top of the Accommodations Forum regularly.

Name: Bits Beyond the Berms
Forum: Vacation Planning Beyond Disney
Updated: info-Daily | thread-weekly
Description: From over-the-hedge to over-seas, this thread keeps you up-to-date on the latest and greatest happenings in the vacation destination world beyond Disney. From Amusement Parks to Theme Parks, from Water Parks to Vacation Destinations and everywhere in between; look no further than this weekly series of threads for the latest news that may effect your next non-Disney vacation or day trip.

Name: Disney Dining Plan FAQ
Forum: Dining
Updated: As New or Updated info is available
Description: This FAQ thread covers just about everything you could want to know about the Disney Dining Plan in a clear, concise FAQ style format. In addition to the direct ask-and-answers, the thread contains links to Dining Plan sections of info Central, lists of included and excluded snack items and a link to the INTERCOT Dining Plan Estimator. If you have a question you don’t feel is answered by this thread, feel free to ask it in the Dining Forum. If your question is general enough to apply to others, it may be updated into the thread.

Name: DLR Hours / DLR Refurb / DLR Entertainment / DLR Parades
Forum: DLR-Theme Parks
Updated: As New or Updated info is available
Description: The essential guides to Disneyland! These four threads keep you up-to-date on all the operation happenings of the Disneyland Resort. Need park hours? Want to know if a ride will be closed? Want to schedule your day around a parade or show? Look no further than these four threads!

Name: INTERCOT Food Photos
Forum: Dining
Updated: Continually
Description: The INTERCOT Food Photo section is still growing. This thread is the place to add your comments and look for updates regarding the section.

Name: Pre-Cruise Planning
Forum: Disney Cruise Line
Updated: Continually
Description: All the essentials to planning a Disney Cruise can be found here. Gain from other INTERCOTee’s valuable experiences or share your own.

Name: Reasons to Join DVC / Reasons NOT to Join DVC
Forum: Disney Vacation Club
Updated: Continually
Description: These two threads centralize the most common quandary of the Disney Vacation Club forum. Examine this dichotomy of threads and pull from the knowledge of many INTERCOTees who have contemplated these same questions before. Join in on the discussions and add your own opinions, experiences, or questions to either (or both) threads.

Name: Tidbits
Forum: News & Rumours
Updated: info-as available | thread-monthly
Description: From all around Walt Disney World, the latest news and rumour tidbits can be found here. With individual items titled and updated, it’s easy to see if a juicy rumour pans out or follow minor news items as they break.

Name: WDW Weather Forecast
Forum: Vacation Planning
Updated: info-Daily | thread-monthly
Description: Want to know the weather conditions at Walt Disney World? Look no further than the top of the Vacation Planning forum. Check in to this thread for daily forecasts and other current weather related information.

Until next time, happy browsing around the boards and see ya real soon!


<< Carol's Communicore   >>

- New Dining Spreadsheets -
Have you looked in Info Central's dining section lately?  We are now offering the INTERCOT Advanced Dining Reservation Planner and the Disney Dining Plan Estimator Spreadsheet. The Estimator is intended to assist INTERCOTees make a better informed decision if the standard Disney Dining Plan is cost effective for them.

The INTERCOT Advanced Dining Reservation Planner allows INTERCOTees to plan their reservations for their vacation dates with automatically generated call dates and a personalized itinerary. The three sections of the Planner provide three distinct avenues of planning. Check it out! A special thanks goes out to Figment! for all of his hard work on the spreadsheets.

- Atlanta Braves Spring Training Tickets on Sale -
Through the month of March, the Atlanta Braves are at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex for their 10th Major League Baseball Spring Training session, including a 15-game home schedule against 10 major league opponents. Individual-game tickets can be purchased at the Disney's Wide World of Sports box office or through Ticketmaster at 407/839-3900. Prices range from $14 (general admission lawn seats) to $22.50 (lower reserved).

Discussion Here

- Radisson Resort Discounts for INTERCOTees -
The Radisson Resort Orlando - Celebration is offering visitors of INTERCOT an exclusive $79 per night room rate for travel dates of April 29, 2007 – June 30, 2007. In addition to this fantastic rate this room will automatically be upgraded to a Sleep Number Bed room which is normally a $10 - $20 upgraded charge. The Radisson Resort Orlando is a Disney Good Neighbor Hotel and is located only 1.5 miles from Walt Disney World. Visit the links below for details on pricing and to make reservations. Bookings must be made by February 28, 2007. Call today and save!

More Information
Reserve A Room Now

Park Hours, Events and Extra Magic Hour schedules are currently posted through August. Visit Info Central to fine-tune your upcoming vacation plans. Also check out the Rehab & Closing page to see what will be closed during your travel dates.

Park Hours, Events & Extra Magic Hour

See you next month. Happy Planning!


<< Off Topic with ChipDale >>

With the New Year come the New Year’s resolutions. darthmacho posed the question to INTERCOTees on whether they made any and what chance they have of keeping them. There were the usual lose weight/get in shape/take better care of myself/excercise promises, and a few unique ones. Strmchsr wants to read more, merlinmagic4 promised to stop buying things she doesn’t need, DDBird wants to be a lot calmer and comicguy vowed to organize and keep his home office clean. So what are your resolutions for 2007?

Piglet822 shared the January celebrations with us last month. Some of the wackier days were: Appreciate a Dragon Day, Belly Laugh Day, Snowplough Mailbox Hockey Day, Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, Fancy Mouse and Rat Day, Penguin Awareness Day, and Fruitcake Toss Day. Thanks Jeanne for keeping us entertained on a daily basis!

Do you have an addiction? No, not that kind! DVC2004 asked INTERCOTees what thing you horde or just can’t get enough of. ChipnDaleGal likes DVD movies and TV shows, Jen0610 buys a lot of books, mickeyfan2001, Tinkerfreak, DisneyDudet and DizNee143 can’t have enough purses, 2Epcot is a photo junky and Tink&Goofy is addicted to Sudoku. We also have several scrap bookers among our members: JanetMegan, conorsmom2000, Jeri Lynn, Flower, and PDXTRAVLER.

sleepingbooty wanted to know which INTERCOTees give their kids allowances and at what age. The general consensus is yes, they give an allowance, but with stipulations. Cantgetenuff’s 7-year old has to brush her teeth, make her bed, do homework, and take care of the dog. Jimenyfan gives a monthly allowance, teaching the kids to budget. Jeri gives her kids money for each chore, then pays them with play money and has the kids “cash” it in when they want real spending money. Thanks everyone for sharing your ideas!

Jamie’s Friday parties for January included the Toss Your Cookies and Cake Party, the Happy Birthday Ken and Jen Party, the Happy Moving on Up Friday Party, and the Fabulous Fun and Fancy Free Friday Party…at Work! Thanks Jamie for giving us something to look forward to at the end of our work week!

Special congratulations to The Reservoir Dog on your recent marriage! Best wishes to you and your bride! And more congratulations and best wishes go out to redandfuzzy on your engagement!

January posting milestones were reached by: PolyGirl40 – 37,000 posts, Melanears – 30,000 posts, Jeff – 16,000 posts, DisneyDeb – 8,000 posts, ElenitaB – 4,000 posts, offwego – 4,000 posts, Jeri Lynn – 2,000 posts, BelleBeauty – 800 posts, and Caroleh – 500 posts. Great job everybody – keep up the quality posting!

That about wraps it up for January. I hope you’re all staying warm and dry out there!


<< Conclusion >>

And that’s it for this edition of the Insider as well. Thanks as always to our wonderful contributors and we’ll see all you wonderful readers in a few short weeks. In the meantime, don’t forget to check the INTERCOT main page for all the latest Disney news, and then discuss it with fellow Disney fanatics on the boards. Happy INTERCOTing!

 
<< INTERCOT Would Like To Thank>>