A lot of my preferences at Walt Disney World are rooted in nostalgia rather than logic. For instance, Tomorrowland is my favorite land in the Magic Kingdom. I can’t logically defend this. Although I love Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover, and Space Mountain (I’ve rambled about this in the caption of another recent photo), when trying to look at the land objectively, it has a lot of faults. Anyone who has been visiting Walt Disney World for years or decades but says their opinions aren’t at least somewhat biased by nostalgia is feeding you a line of crap. There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia and liking certain things because of it. Now, it’s a different story when you advocate change (or lack thereof) because of nostalgia. For example, hoping that Captain EO stays in the Imagination pavilion. No one in their right mind can objectively think that this is an appropriate attraction for Epcot (or anywhere, for that matter). That location deserves a new attraction that fits Future World. From a personal perspective, I preferred Kitchen Kabaret over Soarin’, but I would never contend that Kitchen Kabaret should still be around because, objectively, Soarin’ does more for Epcot than Kitchen Kabaret (even if it doesn’t fit theme perfectly).

But this photo is of Tomorrowland, so back to that. On our trip in 1995, we saw the “new” Tomorrowland for the first time, and I was blown away. (I’ve written about this trip and other childhood trip in my “childhood trip report.”) I was 10 at the time, which was probably my sweet spot for visiting Walt Disney World as a kid. Not too cool for anything, but “brave” and tall enough to do everything. I loved the new look of Tomorrowland, which seemed distinctly futuristic to my 10 year old eyes.

The highlight of that trip was the all new ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (check out that page for an extensive look at Alien Encounter). The attraction was closed on and off while we were there, so it felt like something special when we finally did get to experience it. And what an experience it was. I was at an age where I could grasp some of the dark humor in the pre-show, but not so old that the attraction didn’t scare me a little. It had everything that made an attraction awesome to me: an interesting story, an entertaining wait in line, and most important–-an awesome character in Skippy! After exiting the attraction, I flew into its gift-shop and snatched up the largest Skippy plush I could find. I had been saving up money I had earned for the past year (in my lucrative career cleaning up dog poop for my grandpa) just for such an investment! I still have that Skippy to this day, complete with his original “MousekeToy” tag attached. To date, Alien Encounter is still my second favorite attraction in the history of Walt Disney World behind the original Journey into Imagination. Sarah and I even bravely go where no man should go and experience Stitch’s Great Escape every once in a while just to see the pre-show and my old friend, Skippy.

While I love the look of the current Tomorrowland, neon and all, I know that a big part of the appeal is due to the memories I formed in this incarnation of Tomorrowland as a kid. It also still deeply disappoints me that Alien Encounter, an attraction I still consider incredibly brilliant, has been replaced by an abomination of an attraction. Objectively, I realize that the aesthetics of Tomorrowland aren’t the best, and that Alien Encounter might have been a bit too “adult” for Tomorrowland…but I still love that Tomorrowland of 1995.

What Disney attraction or land tickles your nostalgia bone? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!

This is a post in the Disney Tourist Blog RSS feed. For tips on Disney vacation planning, including dining reviews, tips & tricks, and other guides, check out Disney Tourist Blog!

We’re sharing these photos today in honor of Star Wars Weekends of 2012 at Walt Disney World’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios, starting this weekend! We’ll have plenty of Star Wars Weekends coverage this year, so make sure to check out our Star Wars Weekends 2012 page for updates!

For now, welcome to the Star Tours Tomorrowland Spacesport, StarSpeeder service to Endor. Flight 1-14 featuring 40 photos will now be departing from gate number 2 below.

We do hope you enjoyed your photo tour of Endor, and will come back soon. Now please remain seated until the captain has opened the exit doors. You may then unlatch your safety restraints by pressing the release button on your left. Oh, and do make sure you have your personal belongings. Thank you. Goodbye!

This is a post in the Disney Tourist Blog RSS feed. For tips on Disney vacation planning, including dining reviews, tips & tricks, and other guides, check out Disney Tourist Blog!

Merchandise is another big part of Star Wars Weekends, and 2012 features the all-new “Darth Mall” for merchandise. Disney Parks Blog has already given readers a behind the scenes look at Star Wars Weekends and a sneak peak at some of the merchandise that will be available for Star Wars Weekends 2012, and it looks great! Especially interesting is the all-new “Carbon Freeze-Me” experience, which uses state-of-the-art imaging technology, to cast your likeness as a three-dimensional, eight-inch figurine. Several cameras will capture multiple angles of your face; these images are then reconstructed in a computer for processing to create a figurine. Much like the rest of Star Wars Weekends, that sounds awesome, doesn’t it?!

We are really excited to share all the festivities of this year’s Star Wars Weekends with you, and you can find all of our coverage right here on this page.

We will be posting LIVE PHOTO UPDATES FROM STAR WARS WEEKENDS on this page, so check back throughout the first Star Wars Weekend to see our live coverage from Walt Disney World!

2012 Live Star Wars Weekends Photos:

(Photos to come once the weekend starts…)

While you wait for our coverage of this year’s events, check out our past Star Wars-Disney posts…

Our Previous Star Wars Posts:
Star Wars Weekends Tips
45 Intergalactic Star Wars Photos
Star Wars Facebook Covers

Of course, we’re not the only website covering the intersection of Star Wars and Disney; check out these other great resources that offer Star Tours and Star Wars Weekends tips, coverage, and photos!

Other Sites:
Original Star Tours Flashback (Vintage Photos) – Attractions Magazine
Star Wars Weekends 2012 Week One Map – StudiosCentral.com
Star Tours Collecting Page – EndorExpress.net
Star Tours Queue Photography Tips – DisneyPhotographyBlog.com
Star Tours 2 Opening Dedication (Walt Disney World) – InsidetheMagic.net
Star Tours 2 Opening Dedication (Disneyland) – ThemeParkInsider.com
Star Wars Weekends Touring Plan – TouringPlans.com
2009 Star Wars Weekends Ads – TheChive.com
2011 Star Wars Weekends Motorcade Photos – WDWMagic.com
2011 Star Wars Weekends Special Foods – DisneyFoodBlog.com
2009 Star Wars Weekends Big Figs – WDWNewsToday.com

Check out the links below (coming soon) for our photo updates that will be posted following the first weekend of festivities.

Star Wars Weekends 2012 Coverage:
Storm Troopers Park Opening Show
Merchandise & Food
Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade Parade
Hyperspace Hoopla
Star Wars Characters

This is a post in the Disney Tourist Blog RSS feed. For tips on Disney vacation planning, including dining reviews, tips & tricks, and other guides, check out Disney Tourist Blog!

Spec-wise, the Nikon D7000 is fairly impressive. It has a 16.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, an EXPEED 2 image processor, 39 autofocus points and a new autofocus system, 1920×1080 HD video capabilities, a native ISO range of 100 to 6400, dual SD card slots, live view, 6fps shooting, an intervalometer, virtual horizon, built in 3-frame bracketing for HDR, a 150,000 actuation rated shutter, and a myriad of other techno-babble features.

Of course, all of those buzzwords are meaningless if it doesn’t enable the photographer to take great photos. Since I’m not one to fixate on technical details, I won’t do that here. Instead, I’ll share what I think are the advantages and disadvantages of the Nikon D7000 now that I’ve used it for the last year and a half, during which time it has been my primary camera for our Walt Disney World and Disneyland trips. Yeah, I know, I’m sort of tardy with this review. I never even planned on writing one, but I still get frequent emails from people asking what I think of it. So here’s what I think of it…

Single exposure - CRAZY dynamic range!

First, the pros. As with any camera, the biggest concern should be with image quality. As far as image quality goes, the Nikon D7000 excels. A native ISO (rather than “Low 1″) of 100 is great, and it allows you to take even cleaner photos during daylight hours and when you’re using a tripod at night. The dynamic range of the camera is also better, meaning that it captures more detail in the shadows and in the highlights than its predecessors. Even if you don’t understand what “native ISO” or “dynamic range” mean, trust me–these things are important. They’re especially important if, like me, you don’t want to edit multiple exposures to produce an HDR image but still want to be able to do a fair amount of editing to an image to draw more detail out of it or control highlights. This is a real timesaver for those who like editing their images but don’t want to hassle with multi-exposure HDR.

Another single exposure...

On that same note, the ISO range of the Nikon D7000, which goes up to a native 6400, is very solid. It’s much better than any of the lower-level Nikon cameras, even newer ones, although I must confess that I don’t think it was a huge improvement over the Nikon D90. However, to be fair, test images seem to indicate that even the newer $3,000 full frame Nikon D800 doesn’t improve much upon the Nikon D7000 in high ISO capabilities, either. This is a bit puzzling, as the older Nikon D3 line of cameras has incredibly exceptional high ISO performance. It seems like that performance would have trickled down to the lesser models by now. In any case, the Nikon D7000 is pretty good with high ISO, but it’s not a substantial upgrade over the Nikon D90 or Nikon D300.

Impressive at high ISOs!

The build quality and viewfinder coverage are great features that shouldn’t be overlooked, and are ones that don’t come across on paper ‘spec lists’ too well. Other very useful features that roundup the D7000 are the dual memory card slots, which enable you to shoot to a backup card; the virtual horizon, which should assist you in getting your shots level; and the ability of the camera to meter with older non-CPU lenses.

If you already own a DSLR and aren’t swayed by these features on paper, go to a store and actually pick up a Nikon D7000. Many of these features are what I’d describe as incremental improvements that, individually, don’t amount to substantial improvements, especially in image quality. In fact, most of these improvements are for the convenience of the photographer and make taking photos easier. The features themselves don’t individually produce better shots, but together, they make it easier for the photographer to capture the shot they’re after. This becomes crystal clear once you pick up the Nikon D7000 and actually use it. If you’re on the fence about this camera, you should pick it up and see how it feels in your hands. You’ll probably walk out of the store with a new camera.

At this point, the cons are the many little features that have been incorporated into entry level Nikons that, for some reason, Nikon feels people looking at a pro-sumer camera will not use. An articulating LCD screen would’ve been great for getting into tight or low spaces. Built-in WIFI or GPS would have been great, too. That said, even without these features that I think should have been included, I think the Nikon D7000 is a significant improvement over the entry level Nikons, such as the Nikon D3100, Nikon D3200, and Nikon D5100.

Of course, it costs a lot more than each of these cameras, and shooting in perfect lighting on auto mode will likely result in indistinguishable photos between the three, but if you’re looking for something more than an entry level camera and you know how to use manual settings and can appreciate the features of a more advanced camera, the Nikon D7000 is for you. If you’re more concerned about having DSLR quality but plan on using the camera with a kit lens mostly (or only) in auto-mode, I would recommend sticking with a lower-level camera such as the new Nikon D3200.

My other initial complaints about the Nikon D7000 mostly related to the camera in comparison to the Nikon D90. That was when it was originally released and you could purchase a Nikon D90 for around $600 but a Nikon D7000 cost $1,500. Since then, the price has dropped on the D7000, while it’s hard to locate the now-discontinued D90 (if anything, the price on it has gone up!). I still have my reservations in recommending that someone who owns a Nikon D90 make the leap to the Nikon D7000.

Of course, if you’re making the leap into the DSLR world and are on a budget, you also need to consider the cost of lenses and various accessories. I feel lenses are more important than a camera body, so keep that in mind when budgeting. Refer to our reviews of different photography equipment, accessories, books, and software for Walt Disney World and Disneyland photography if you’re making the leap into the world of DSLRs (and congrats!). Also, if you really enjoy photography, you should probably check out ISO 5571, a podcast I co-host that is entirely focused on Walt Disney World and Disneyland photography.

Overall, the Nikon D7000 is a great camera, especially if you want to use something at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, but it’s not for everyone. I’d recommend it for people who are looking to upgrade from their entry level models or who are wanting to get into photography and expect to be “serious” about the hobby. It’s a lot of camera at first, but it gives you plenty of great options and offers many improvements over the entry level models. If you own a Nikon D90 or Nikon D300, I probably wouldn’t look at the D7000. Likewise, if you’re not too serious about photography but want the quality of a DSLR, go with an entry level model, instead.

If you do want to purchase this lens–or any other photography equipment–please use the Amazon links here (like this one). Not only does Amazon offer great customer service and low prices, but using the links here help support DisneyTouristBlog.com (at no cost to you!) and help us continue to provide you with great content. 

Do you own the Nikon D7000 DSLR camera? Interested in it? Share your thoughts about this camera in the comments!

This is a post in the Disney Tourist Blog RSS feed. For tips on Disney vacation planning, including dining reviews, tips & tricks, and other guides, check out Disney Tourist Blog!

Another view of the Morocco pavilion in Epcot at night. This is either my favorite or second favorite World Showcase pavilion to photograph (depends upon when you ask!), and I still haven’t explored all of the pavilion. It truly is a treasure-trove for photographers!

See our previous Walt Disney World “Photos of the Day” by clicking here.

Technical details: Nikon D7000 and Rokinon 8mm Fisheye Lens.  

This is a post in the Disney Tourist Blog RSS feed. For tips on Disney vacation planning, including dining reviews, tips & tricks, and other guides, check out Disney Tourist Blog!

When it comes to planning, here are the five biggest areas where you can save on your trip to Walt Disney World, and our suggestions for how to cut costs in each area. You’ll save so much with these tips that you’ll feel like you just got back from Appliance Direct, not Walt Disney World!

1. Travel Package Discounts – The “Magic Your Way” Vacation Package is one of the biggest first-time visitor pitfalls. Disney carefully markets this package to give guests the impression that they’re saving money, when in actuality, they aren’t. Quite simply, this package is Disney’s way of bundling hotel, tickets, and the Disney Dining Plan together. Despite what Disney agents may say, the Magic Your Way vacation packages are not discounts, and are usually worse deals than you can get if paying full price for the package than buying each component individually. Although you will receive certain extras for booking a Magic Your Way vacation package, these extras are not things that most guests will use.

However, there are some package discounts you can find on DisneyWorld.com (depending upon season and availability) that will save you money. These packages can be complex and difficult for the uninitiated to understand. Given this, I highly recommend contacting a Disney travel agent to assist you. I know what you might be thinking: “Travel agent?! I’m trying to save money here–remember that I’m on a budget! I’m not rolling in dough like John Stamos!” There is this misconception that travel agents make Disney trips more expensive. Couldn’t be further from the truth, as long as you book with a fee-free agency. Fee free means that you don’t pay them, Disney pays them a commission. They can find the best discounts for your circumstances, and even assist you with advance dining reservations and other planning. If it’s your first trip, I highly recommend contacting a fee-free travel agent.

One thing travel agents can’t help with is PIN codes. PIN Codes are the holy grail of Walt Disney World discounts. They are an exclusive discount sent to a limited number of recipients that frequently allow offer a greater discount than promotions offered to the general public. PIN codes are shrouded in mystery, but I’ve written in the past about how you can increase your chances of receiving one.

The most important thing to remember about these package deals is that they’re only a deal if what’s offered appeals to you. You shouldn’t book a Deluxe Resort because it’s 40% off versus a Value Resort at 25% just because of the “better” savings, nor should you take advantage of the free Disney Dining Plan promotion if saving money is your biggest goal and you’d just as soon prepare your own meals at your hotel. If you do book a package discount, it obviates the need to concern yourself with some other items on this list, but you should read this list in full before booking anything.

2. Hotel – This is tricky. You can undoubtedly save the most money by staying at a hotel that is off Disney property. Even the cheapest Disney hotels (the Values) are around $70-110 per night after discounts, and for that amount of money, you can get a much nicer hotel off-property. A hotel that offers comparable amenities to a Value but is located off property might be as cheap as $40 a night. The problem with staying off site is that you don’t have the advantage of Disney’s (complimentary) Magic Express shuttle from the airport to your hotel, nor do you (usually) have free transportation to the parks from your hotel. So you need a rental car if staying off property whereas you don’t necessarily need one if staying on Walt Disney World property. Even after the cost of the rental car, you probably would come out ahead by staying off property from a budgetary perspective, but Disney offers other perks, like Extra Magic Hours and the ability to purchase the Disney Dining Plan, to those staying on property. Plus, Disney-owned hotels have Disney themed and offer a nice escape from the real world.

Another option besides booking a Disney-owned hotel or staying off-site in a hotel, condo, or vacation home is renting Disney Vacation Club points from a third party and staying in one of those resorts. This isn’t an ultimate “on a budget” tip, as you’re still looking at paying a minimum of $100 per night, but it gives you great accommodations and Disney perks at a great savings. So consider it a “frugal person” tip to save more money instead of an “on a budget” tip.

Ultimately, if money is your absolute and only consideration, stay off property. If cost is important, but there are other considerations, I strongly recommend staying on property. We always stay on property and I can’t imagine not staying on property. However, everyone’s circumstances are different, so you should weigh all factors accordingly and do what’s right for you. There are a lot of great off-property hotels and vacation homes, so don’t have trepidation about going off property. If you do stay off property and rent a car, you’ll have the secondary benefit of being able to eat off-site or going to a grocery store to pick up food when you arrive in Florida, thus saving you even more money!

3. Tickets – If you purchase a vacation package, this is not something about which you need to worry. If you don’t buy a package, consider purchasing your tickets in advance and from an authorized third party vendor instead of Disney. These third party vendors offer savings of about 5-20% off Disney prices (sometimes more, sometimes less). Not a huge savings, but every little bit helps when you’re visiting Disney on a budget, right? The vendor with by far the best reputation is Undercover Tourist. Even if you don’t purchase from them, what you don’t want to do is buy the “cheap” tickets you see advertised along the roadside on your way to Walt Disney World. Those are scams.

Once you figure where you’ll get your tickets, you need to figure out which tickets to purchase. This depends largely upon how many days you’re going and how frequently you plan on visiting Walt Disney World. Your best per day value is always getting tickets for longer length of stays. For example, the per day cost of a 10 day ticket might be $35, whereas the per day cost of a 2 day ticket might by $80 (numbers for the sake of example only).

To take advantage of this pricing scheme, back when we visited Walt Disney World once per year for about 5-7 days per trip, we would buy 10-day No-Expiration Tickets with the Water Parks Fun and More option from Undercover Tourist, and would use approximately 3-5 of these days per trip plus one or two water park days. On the water park days, we’d leave the water park at around 5 pm, and spend the rest of the day at Downtown Disney or we would head to one of the monorail resorts to enjoy dinner followed by the Electrical Water Pagent and Wishes! from one of the hotel beaches.

Since we also often visited when Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party or Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party was taking place, we would save days by having breakfast or lunch in a resort hotel (or, if it’s Christmas season, the best way to spend the morning before Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is by doing a FREE self-guided Deluxe Resorts Christmas Tour!) and then heading into the Magic Kingdom at 4 pm once our tickets were valid. This made for an incredibly entertaining day and nice change of pace, but the REAL benefit was that we didn’t have to use one of our precious park days! By doing this, we were able to stretch these tickets out and use them over the course of multiple years, which greatly decreased our ticket costs. If you visit Walt Disney World once per year for 7 or less days, we highly recommend adopting this strategy to save money!

There are various affiliation discounts and other ins and outs to saving on tickets. If the above strategy (by far the best if you’re going to visit multiple times and are on a budget) doesn’t work for you, check out our Disney park tickets page for other options.

If you’re planning on going for more than 10 days on your trip, or once per year (move the second trip up a bit so they’re both within a year), you may want to look into Annual Passes. If it’s a close call as to whether you should get an Annual Pass, sometimes getting one for one person in your party may be a good idea so you can take advantage of other discounts, too.

4. Food – Once you have your tickets and are in the park, it’s time to think about food, assuming you’re not already covered by having the Disney Dining Plan as a part of your vacation package. This is the best way to ‘get creative’ with your savings at Walt Disney World. The easiest way to save money on food is to not purchase food from Disney restaurants. Stop at a grocery store on your way to Walt Disney World, eat at off-site restaurants, or use a grocery delivery service. Disney also allows guests to bring food to the park (check out our packing list for recommendations), so you can conceivably never purchase food from Disney during your entire trip! We happen to think that Disney’s restaurants can be a fun part of the experience, so we don’t recommend going this route.

Fully loaded thanks to the toppings bar!

If you decide to eat at Disney restaurants, the next question is whether you should add-on the Disney Dining Plan. While you can save a good amount of money (as much as 40% if you maximize your usage of the Plan) by using the Disney Dining, you can also eat at Walt Disney World cheaper by paying out of pocket if you focus on “dining on a dime.” So whether you should get the Disney Dining Plan is another one of those “personal decisions.” Read our review and overview of the Disney Dining Plan to get more help on that front. If you decide against the Disney Dining Plan, consider the Tables in Wonderland card (if eligible).

If you want to “dine on a dime” at Walt Disney World, here are some specific tips for getting the most for your money at Walt Disney World restaurants:

• Order the 1/2 Chicken and BBQ Rib Combo at Cosmic Ray’s (Magic Kingdom) and split it; it’s more expensive than other meals, but it’s enough food to share.
• Order from the kid’s menu. Portion sizes are smaller, but so is price.
• At Cosmic Ray’s, Pecos Bill (Magic Kingdom), and other restaurants with Toppings Bars, order a DOUBLE cheeseburger and extra bun to make two burgers. An extra bun now costs as much as $4 at these locations, which is ridiculous, but you can fill up on delicious toppings to make the meal much more affordable.
• Sunshine Seasons (Epcot), Electric Umbrella (Epcot), Restaurantosaurus (Disney’s Animal Kingdom), Backlot Express (Disney’s Hollywood Studios), and most Disney resort-hotel food court restaurants offer free drink refills. Dine at these restaurants if you really like soda.
• Eat lunch at Table Service restaurants instead of dinner; often the same menus are used, but at lower price-points.
• Order a la carte. Menus typically list “combo” prices. If you don’t want fries (or a side), order just the entree to save.
• Eat at Earl of Sandwich (Downtown Disney). Prices are lower at this independently-owned restaurant, which just so happens to be a favorite restaurant among Disney fans!
•  ”Build Your Own” Dole Whip at Captain Cook’s (Disney’s Polynesian Resort). The Dole Whip is a storied Walt Disney World treat. Make your own (huge) Dole Whip at the Polynesian instead of getting one at Aloha Isle in Adventureland.
• Get some free caffeine at Club Cool (Epcot) by trying the beverages of the world. Our favorite is the Beverly!
• Pizzafari (Disney’s Animal Kingdom) and Pizza Planet (Disney’s Hollywood Studios) offer sizable pizzas for affordable prices.
• Purchase a Restaurant.com $25 gift card for $10 and use it at restaurants at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin hotels.
• The Plaza Restaurant (Magic Kingdom) offers table service food for counter service prices.
• For another cheap(er) table service meal, order the largest pizza at Via Napoli (Epcot) and split it between 3-5 people.

These are just some ways that come to mind that we’ve saved money when dining at Walt Disney World. If you have others, please share them in the comments!

5. Souvenirs - Souvenirs come last on our list much like they do for most people visiting the parks on a budget. The notion that Disney really pushes expensive souvenirs has so permeated our culture that even Disney has gotten in on the act by poking fun at itself for the practice in the script of the Jungle Cruise and on the television show Modern Family. However, Walt Disney World souvenirs don’t have to be expensive. Our biggest tip for saving money on souvenirs is purchasing Disney pins for Pin Trading on eBay prior to your trip. Not only can you get them cheap ($1-2 pin versus the $8-20 that Disney charges for “normal” pins), but Pin Trading is a blast and will add another layer of fun to your Walt Disney World vacation. For more information about it, check out our Pin Trading tips.

If Pin Trading isn’t your style, there are other ways to save money on souvenirs. If you’re purchasing for kids, the best thing to do is look for deals on Amazon.com’s Disney page or in the clearance section of your local Disney Store. You can then bring these toys with you and give them to your kids on vacation. Other cheap and fun souvenir options include Vinylmation (be careful, they’re addictive!), magnets, or keychains. Learn from our mistake and don’t spiral into the dangerous and expensive world of Disney collectibles. Disneyana is like crack…except without the life-threatening and illegal aspects. Okay, it’s nothing like crack besides being marginally addictive. Bad example.

 So there you have them, our tips for visiting Walt Disney World on a budget! If you have other tips for saving money at Walt Disney World, please share them in the comments! 

This is a post in the Disney Tourist Blog RSS feed. For tips on Disney vacation planning, including dining reviews, tips & tricks, and other guides, check out Disney Tourist Blog!