Views of Harambe Market

by Gaylin

The Harambe Market at the Animal Kingdom is a great place to take photos.

Here are a few of my favourites.

Walt Disney World and the Florida Shore, April 2017: Part 4

By Nick

Tuesday, April 25th  


Jill, Zach, Barbie, and I headed to Epcot, (Trevor had an early flight home), and used our Soarin' FastPasses, followed by breakfast at Sunshine Seasons.

Afterwards Jill and Zach went to Test Track, while Barbie and I rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment, and took pictures around Future World.

We met back up with Jill and Zach at The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and took a ride looking for that little rascal.

We met up with our friend Marilyn for lunch at Coral Reef. It was great to see her again, even if only for a little while!

We rode Spaceship Earth and got our photos with Daisy Duck before departing for the rental house in Ormond Beach. (please see part 1)

We spent the rest of the week visiting the beach, swimming in the pool, having great food and great beer and spending time with family!

Part 1 
Part 2
Part 3

Walt Disney World Priorities - Episode 129 of The Disney Exchange Podcast

The Disney Exchange is Lisa, Dave, and me, Nick

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I give a shout out and a thank you to Andrew C. and Dave Tupper for all their support on social media. Lisa recently appeared on Dave's show, Aloha Disney 808.

Our crime reports continue, as Lisa shares a new Phishing Scam taking place at Walt Disney World resorts.

Dave talks about a Boozy Breakfast offering to be had at Satu'li Canteen in Pandora the World of Avatar in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Steel Cut Oatmeal ; Steel-cut Oats, topped with Caramelized Brown Sugar, Bourbon-soaked Raisins, Marcona Almonds and Goji Berries. This item is prepared with alcohol and can only be ordered by Guests 21 years of age or older.

This week we are talking about our Walt Disney World priorities : time of year, transportation, resort, dining ADRs, FastPasses, etc.

And remember, the early bird gets the ride!

We also share planning priorities and when you should book ADRs and FastPasses.

The Wheel of Distiny topic this week: Have you seen Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and what did you think? 

You can send us an email at info@thedisneyexchange and reach out with show suggestions, submit Wheel of Distiny topics, or request a listener number on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedisneyexchange, Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneyexchange 

If you would be so kind as to leave us a 5 star review on any of the social media sites, such as Facebook or iTunes, we'd really appreciate it. Thank you!

Thank you for listening to The Disney Exchange! 
  

Disney E-Gift Cards

by Shendl 

I learnt something new recently….Disney does E-Gift Cards!  I think this is just so convenient especially if you want to send a friend overseas a Gift and you don’t want to chance the postage system! 


I really think it’s a fantastic idea and I recently got the chance to use it when I purchased my MNSSHP Tickets (Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party).  My friend Elaine, who lives in Canada, very kindly wanted to purchase our MNSSHP tickets as a gift to us (we Live in South Africa), the issue with buying them directly was that I would have to have the credit card used in the purchase  to collect our tickets at Will Call. That proved to be a little too complicated for my liking so when my friend, Julie told me about these E-Gift Cards that you can use on the Disney Store or in the Parks, I did some research and I was so excited to find that this way would work!!

I contacted Elaine and she did the purchase of the gift card from the Comfort of her own home in Canada and emailed it to me in South Africa!! The next day I was able to Purchase my MNSSHP tickets through My Disney Experience and they were then linked automatically to my Magic Band.
I haven’t had the chance to use an E-Gift Card in a Park but I am sure it will be fairly easy though. The E-Gift Card is emailed to you with a barcode so I would assume you could either use a Gift Card App on your phone or just cut out the barcode part and present that at purchase when in the parks.
Using it on the Disney Website was so easy!! I would definitely recommend it for online purchases!

Have you used a Disney E-Gift Card Before?? Let us know how you liked it?
https://www.disneystore.com/gift-cards-disney-gift-card-egift/mp/1417611/1001265/

Walt Disney World and the Florida Shore, April 2017: Part 3

By Nick

Part 1
Part 2

Monday, April 24th 

We slept in a bit before heading to Disney's Hollywood Studios to use our FastPasses for Toy Story Midway Mania and Tower of Terror.

 Me, Barbie, Jill, Zach, and Trevor

We headed to Star Wars Launch Bay where we were met by my Disney Exchange Podcast co-host Dave. We got pictures with Chewie, BB-8, and the always terrifying Kylo Ren.

Please note Trevor isn't in the photo with Kylo Ren. That's because he showed Kylo his Rebel Alliance logo tattoo and was sent to stand alone off to the side!

We had a very good lunch at Brown Derby before heading over to Epcot the guys heading to the HP Lounge that is located above Mission Space courtesy of Zach and Trevor, while the girls went shopping.

We all met up again, and got a bunch of pictures of the Flower and Garden displays. Love the portrait mode on the iPhone 7!

At one point Barbie and I were having our picture taken by a PhotoPass photographer when Jill and Zach happened to start walking in front of the picture. They apologized, but I said, no, please keep going through, and asked the Cast Member to keep snapping as they did. He said in the years he'd been a PhotoPass photographer, he'd never had anyone request this.

We hopped a monorail over to the Ticket and Transportation Center, where we disembarked and took a walk over to the Polynesian.

While the girls went to the BouTiki shop and Trevor to Disney Springs, Dave, Zach and I went to the Tambu Lounge for cocktails.

Once the girls returned, we headed over to the Top of the World, a Disney Vacation Club lounge located at Bay Lake Towers, where we had a light dinner and enjoyed Wishes one last time, as it has been replaced by a new show, Happily Ever After.

Two and a half Days at WDW Touring Plan - Episode 128 of The Disney Exchange Podcast

The Disney Exchange is Lisa, Dave and me Nick

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

After news and rumors I share plans for our trip to Walt Disney World in December 15th-20th.

My wife and I have Gold Annual Passes, and Blockout or blackout dates apply.  I called Disney and found our these dates starts Monday, December 18th. This means we only have Friday afternoon - Sunday to visit the parks, so I ask Dave and Lisa for their advise. We bounce around different touring plans, factoring in that park hours may be shortened and that there will be various Christmas decorations and activities we will want to see. 

The Wheel of Distiny :  You have a $10,000 Disney vacation budget but you CANNOT go to Disney World, whatcha gonna spend it on?

You can send us an email at info@thedisneyexchange and reach out with show suggestions, submit Wheel of Distiny topics, or request a listener number on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedisneyexchange, Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneyexchange 

If you would be so kind as to leave us a 5 star review on any of the social media sites, such as Facebook or iTunes, we'd really appreciate it. Thank you!

Thank you for listening to The Disney Exchange!

Walt Disney World and the Florida Shore, April 2017: Part 2

By Nick

Sunday, April 23rd 

We slept in a bit and had breakfast at the Pepper Market at Coronado Springs before heading to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

After riding Dinosaur we walked back towards Discovery Island Trails and walked through the shops. I was in search of a hat. I'm not a big hat fan, but I'm even less of a fan of putting sunscreen on my face as I generally break out from it and just don't like how it feels. 

 

Me, Trevor, Zach, Barbie and Jill

While in the shop I received a text from my Disney Exchange co-host Lisa saying that she, her husband Raymond, and their son Joseph were in DAK also, at the Nomad Lounge, located inside Tiffins. I texted our other co-host, Dave, and told him where we were all meeting up.

We spent a couple of hours having adult beverages, snacks and a good time together!

  Lisa, Dave and me

We left there and took photos in front of the Tree of Life, and said goodbye to Dave. 

Joseph, Raymond, Lisa, Dave, Barbie and me

We headed to Kilimanjaro Safaris, stopping at Dawa Bar, because, well, it is a long walk and it was a hot day.

Lisa and her family left for awhile, and our group had dinner at Yak and Yeti.  We ran into friends Jennifer and Chris (see part one) on our way over to meet Lisa, her family and Dave at the Fastpass entrance to Rivers of Light.

While waiting for Lisa, our friends Beth and Amanda spotted us, and we sat with them during the show.

 

Ah, Rivers of Light. It is, well, it's okay. It isn't something that I would wait to see again. For one, the bleacher seats are not comfortable enough for prolonged periods. And the show is sort of aimless. The music and visuals were pleasant enough, but it lacks a hook.

We said goodnight to everyone and headed back to the resort for the evening. 

Part one can be found here : http://disneymusings.blogspot.com/2017/05/walt-disney-world-and-florida-shore.html

You can hear a full review by Lisa, Dave and myself on Episode 124 of The Disney Exchange Podcast.