Disney Vacation Club

See the Disney Vacation Club DVD Right Now!

Disney Vacation Club was created in 1991 to meet the needs of families vacationing at the Walt Disney World® Resort every year or every two years. Today, Disney Vacation Club has grown beyond the Walt Disney World Resort and offers tens of thousands of Members the opportunity to vacation at over 500 destinations worldwide.

Disney Vacation Club was created by Disney Vacation Development, Inc., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

Vacation flexibility is key to Membership in Disney Vacation Club. As a Member, you may choose from any of the multiple Disney Vacation Club Resorts, or from select Resort hotels at Walt Disney World® Resort, Disneyland® Resort in California and Disneyland® Resort Paris. In addition, you can set sail for dream destinations on Disney Cruise Line® or select from over 500 Member Getaways worldwide.

Through the Member Getaways Program, you may, for example, exchange reserved Disney Vacation Club Resort accommodations for a Hawaiian beach vacation, a Lake Tahoe ski retreat, an African safari or a Caribbean cruise aboard Disney Cruise Line. All accommodations are subject to availability. 

There are many exciting benefits of being a Member. You may take advantage of special benefits such as discounts on select Theme Park Annual Passes at select Walt Disney World® and Disneyland® Resorts. You're also entitled to savings on golf, recreation, dining and merchandise at select locations throughout the Resorts. And you'll have a dedicated team of Disney experts to help you with every aspect of planning your vacation and using your Membership, a service exclusively for Disney Vacation Club Members. Travel options for Members include the Disney Vacation Club Resort network of over 500 Member Getaways worldwide through The Disney Collection, Adventurer Collection, World Passport Collection and Concierge Collection (subject to availability). Call (800) 500-3990† to learn about these and other exciting benefits.

You may vacation as often as you like until you have used your entire annual allotment of Vacation Points. For example, you can escape to the Walt Disney World® Resort in the winter, go on a cruise in the summer and still enjoy the fall foliage in Vermont. Don't have enough Vacation Points for all the places you'd love to go? As a Member, you can bank this year's Vacation Points or borrow Vacation Points from next year.

Resorts at the Walt Disney World

# Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort
# Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas
# Disney's Beach Club Villas
# The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
# Disney's BoardWalk Villas
# Disney's Old Key West Resort
# Disney's Vero Beach Resort
# Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

Just as Walt Disney imagineered an amusement park into a Theme Park, Disney Vacation Club was created on the foundation of earlier time-share programs. What sets Disney Vacation Club apart from others is the "Disney Difference", gracious hospitality, Disney quality and creativity throughout. Disney Vacation Club also offers unprecedented flexibility in choosing among a wide variety of vacation experiences (subject to availability).

On average, it costs about the price of just seven family vacations* to join Disney Vacation Club. But for that same one-time purchase price and closing costs, plus annual dues, you and your family enjoy over 45 years of amazing vacations. In addition, Disney Vacation Club offers ways that can make Membership affordable. Through special incentives that may be offered and financing options for qualified buyers, you can find a plan that's just right for how you like to vacation. Simply call Disney Vacation Club at (800) 500-3990† and a representative will help you customize a Membership plan that lets you and your family start making magical memories today and for years to come. Outside the U.S. or Canada, please call (407) 566-3100.

Aulani - New Disney's Resort at Hawaii

The Aulani, A New Disney Resort and Spa in Ko Olina is scheduled to open in Fall 2011. Here is the newest video where you'll see the Concept Art, 3d model, informations and a virtual fly over.

Click here to see the official Aulani Site.

Click Here to read a great article at Star Bulletin.

In a nutshell, how would you describe the Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai`i?

A premier oceanfront resort on the island of O`ahu, Hawai`i, the Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina is a place for families to gather, reconnect and immerse themselves in the stories of Hawai`i. Storytelling vividly brings to life Hawaii's culture and connection to nature, so each member of the family gains from a deeper understanding, appreciation, and ultimately, enjoyment of Hawai`i. The design of the Resort honors Hawaiian tradition in its village concept, including hotel rooms, Disney Vacation Club Villas, meeting rooms and wedding facilities-spread over 21 wondrous acres. Disney's world-class service caters to your family's needs in ways unique to this destination. In a breathtaking setting-sweeping ocean views, glistening white sandy beaches, a pristine cove, lush tropical foliage, a water garden and salt-water lagoons perfect for swimming and snorkeling-this Resort & Spa is a premier vacation destination.

 Lobby View

Why would I choose Ko Olina as a destination?

On the Wai`anae Coast of O`ahu, sheltered by mountains to the north, Ko Olina is a secluded paradise in a beautiful island setting, yet close enough to Waikiki to enjoy the shopping and activity there. Ko Olina is legendary as a source of inspiration to travelers. A place of breathtaking natural beauty where it's said that the goddess Pele visited to re-energize after traveling, Ko Olina was also a sacred place of renewal for Kamehameha the Great and his wife, Ka`ahumanu. Known for its sandy beaches, majestic seascapes and snorkeling, Ko Olina is home to many islanders who make their living from the rich agricultural tradition and fishing in the area.

Main Lobby

What makes this a world-class resort unlike any other?

The Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina offers you the opportunity to discover Hawai`i, while experiencing everything you want from a vacation-leisure, adventure, family time and romance. Designed with families in mind, there's so much for each member of your family to do and see that you can choose to enjoy a complete vacation here-or venture out to nearby points of interest. You can spend hours just exploring the grounds. Pathways wind throughout a wonderland of water, with a river, large pools, waterslides and sparkling lagoons. Children will particularly enjoy the resort's fish ponds and tide pools filled with bright native sea life. Symbolic of the balance and harmony of masculine and feminine elements, 2 streams join together in a waterfall that flows into the tropical garden, giving way to majestic stands of coconut palms, then sandy beach. A family Resort, the Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina calls children to adventure. To the delight of our younger Guests, the magical and mischievous menehune (mythical Hawaiian elf-like inhabitants) are playfully hidden under lobby tables and are out in full view at the water playground, offering endless entertainment. For our adult Guests, Ko Olina offers all the amenities of a world-class resort. Unwind in our extraordinary spa, surrounded by peaceful rainbow reflections of light and color, where you can experience the traditional healing arts of Hawai`i and services, such as hydrotherapy and aromatherapy.

Site Plan

What was the inspiration for the remarkable design?

Celebrating the elegance and history of Hawai`i, the architecture and interior design of the resort takes its inspiration from Hawaiian culture. Inside and out, simplicity, fine materials and attention-to-detail reflect the layers of refined thinking that characterize Hawaiian art. The unique architecture evokes Hawaiian villages in a modern, awe-inspiring interpretation. At the Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, ancient meets modern in a way that will make you marvel at the natural beauty and sophisticated elegance. A large volcanic rock passes from outside to inside the glass lobby wall. This reverence for nature is seen throughout, with volcanic stone columns that line the hallway, works of art perched in the crowns of lava rock rising from the lobby floor, and the lavish use of wood. Pools of water traverse the lobby, one tranquil and filled with lilies, the other rocky and wild, rushing out towards the sea. A dramatic, pitched-beam ceiling soars upward, enhancing the open-air ambiance created by walls of glass. Torch lights and calabash-inspired bowl lamps bring warmth to the interiors. Rooms are appointed with lustrous wood and Hawaiian elements, from the geometric patterns inspired by kapa cloth (textiles made from tree bark) to the craftsmanship you encounter at every turn.

Back of the Resort

What was the approach to creating this Resort?

Disney Imagineers teamed up with members of the local community to determine how the story of the Resort & Spa would unfold for Guests. Through this collaborative approach, the team sought to create an experience of total engagement with the land-revealed through storytelling. Examples of storytelling elements include the lobby mural depicting Hawaiian life and the pathfinding symbols on the floor, pointing makai, "towards the ocean," or mauka, "towards the mountain." Storytelling elements are woven together into an experience for each member of the family, in a journey of discovery and wonder at Ko Olina, "Fulfillment of Joy."

Kids Club

 

Be sure to register on this website, so we can send you communications as news is announced and our grand opening gets closer.

35th anniversary of Carousel of Progress

Links About the Carousel of Progress:

Wikipedia

Carousel of Progress dot Com

Official Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress

General Electric Carousel of Progress at Yesterland

Photo Gallery since 1964 from All Ears

The Best Time of Your Life from Walt Dated World

Carousel of Progress at Amazon.com


Videos with subtitles. At the end of the 4th video, The Sherman Brothers are playing the theme song along with Walt E. Disney.

"Thank you for joining us at the Walt Disney's Carousel or Progress.We Hope you've enjoyed this tribute to the 1964 Carousel of Progress from the New York World's Fair. Please, gather all of your personal belongs and exit trought the doors located at the back of the theater. Have a great big beautiful day and remember: Tomorrow is just a dream away!"

Main Street Trolley Parade - Magic Kingdom Welcome

As part of the Main Street U.S.A. Parades at the Magic Kingdom, this is one of a kind and most guests don't even heard about that.

The parade with dancers started on February, 2003 and is performed periodically during the day. I think this is a wonderful way to start your day at the Magic Kingdom.

In this video you'll see first the main street at dusk (my favorite time) and after a minute of video, the Welcome Medley from the Trolley Parade record during 3 diferent days  :)

You can find this track in the WDW Happiest Celebration on Earth CD Disk 1 [Expanded Version] and the video comes with subtitles in english!

Unfortunately I didn't add this in this video because of COPYRIGHT ISSUES but I have some amazing footages of my father dancing among then back in 2007.

The song called "Walkin' Right Down the Middle of Main Street, U.S.A." have credits to Stu Nunnery. Here is what he said on ClassicRockMusicBlog.com: "I wrote words and music to 'Main Street, U.S.A.' in 1978 while writing for a 'jingle house' in New York. Disney bought the song and there was supposed to be a rollout of the song in 1980 when Disneyland was to celebrate its 25th anniversary (1955). The song did not appear publicly until 1985 when Disneyland celebrated its 30th anniversary, and it was sung on a TV special by none other than Marie Osmond and a cast of characters. Since then, the song remains a parade theme at the parks, and is sung by the barbershop a capella groups walking down Main Street at the parks."

Enjoy :)

Assassin's Creed II

The Good

• Huge, beautifully realized world to explore
• Ezio is a terrific new character
• Tombs put a spotlight on the excellent and enjoyable platforming
• A greater variety of missions, weapons, and stealth techniques than in the original
• Incredible production values.

The Bad

• Some additions are a little contrived
• A few gameplay and visual quirks.

***********************

"Nothing is true; everything is permitted." We learned this adage in the original Assassin's Creed, and Assassin's Creed II carries on the tradition beautifully, inspiring you to rethink the conspiracy at the heart of the series--and to reconsider what you should expect from a sequel. The franchise's second console outing is an impressive piece of work. Developer Ubisoft Montreal has addressed almost all of Assassin's Creed's flaws by filling its follow-up with fresh and enjoyable mission types and layering on new and mostly excellent features, while still retaining the joy of movement and atmospheric wonder that characterized the original. These enhancements range from the subtle (you can swim now) to the game-changing (there's an economy), but aside from a few small missteps, every tweak makes for a more enjoyable, more engaging adventure. The cohesive story and a terrific new character will draw you in, and you aren't apt to forget the memorable and explosive ending that will have you eager for the third installment.

Climbing and killing: It's all part of the Assassin's Creed.

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Like in the first game, Assassin's Creed II occurs across two timelines: a modern-day chronology starring bartender Desmond Miles, and another featuring one of Desmond's ancestors. When you start the game, you'll catch up with Desmond right where the original left him, though as fans of the original can guess, the Abstergo labs are no longer a safe haven. You'll spend a bit of time with Desmond during the course of the game, though the shoes you most frequently fill are those of Ezio Auditore di Firenze, the charmingly impetuous son of a 15th-century Italian banker. Ezio is an instantly likable firebrand, as passionate about family and honor as he is about wine and women. When you first meet him, Ezio is living a carefree life and has not yet donned his assassin's robe, nor is he familiar with the creed. However, Ezio's devil-may-care freedom is soon cut short by murder and betrayal instigated by the assassins' greatest threat: the Templars.

Assassin's Creed's Altair was an interesting character, but only for the stealthy order he represented, not because you ever got to know the man under the white hood. Ezio is far more appealing, for he's not just quick with a secret blade, but he's a fully realized protagonist. He isn't at the mercy of the plot, but rather, the narrative evolves from his need to uncover the truth behind his sorrows. It's the personal nature of the narrative that makes Assassin's Creed II's story more compelling than its predecessor's. The few modern-day segments featuring Desmond pack a lot more punch this time around as well, and the conspiracies driving that story arc become a lot clearer and, as a result, more provocative. While the original ended on a vague and unsatisfying note, the latest chapter's climax is downright electrifying.

Ezio isn't Assassin's Creed II's only headliner. The Italy he inhabits is a character in and of itself, filled with visual and sonic details that infuse the world with life and elegance. The cities you explore--Florence, Venice, and more--are larger and more detailed than the environs of the first game. Citizens go about their daily lives, and they look authentic doing so. Merchants sweep the street in front of their shops; small groups stroll along, making conversation with each other; and courtesans smirk and cajole as you pass by. These folks aren't cookie-cutter character models. They are dressed differently enough from each other and are animated so expressively that it's as if the population would go about its business with or without your presence. More impressive are the cityscapes themselves as they unfold in front of you, inviting you to take in their splendor. This is an incredibly good-looking game: the lighting is sumptuous, the draw distance is vast, and textures are crisp. The PlayStation 3 version does suffer from some frame rate jitters, more frequent texture fade-in, and lesser color saturation. Both versions are still attractive, however, and apart from a few small flaws, you rarely get the feeling that visual compromises were made to make the game's open world run smoothly.

Double assassinations never get old.

Assassin's Creed II's sense of place and time isn't due just to its visuals, however. Its high-quality sound design is equally responsible, delivering a busy-sounding Florence while still allowing the little quips of citizens commenting on your acrobatics to shine through. There's a good variety of such dialogue now, so you won't tire of repeated lines, and because the citizen rescues of the original Assassin's Creed have been excised, you won't hear the monotonous whines of complaining peasants. Two aspects of the sound design are particularly noteworthy: the music and the voice acting. The game's splendid orchestral score is subtle and soothing when it needs to be, never intruding on the exploration and never manipulating your emotions with inappropriate musical melodrama. The simple but effective cello and double bass motif you hear when climbing to a perch and synchronizing your map is the perfect example of this smart melodic restraint. As for the voice acting, it is uniformly excellent. Not only is Ezio voiced with charm and energy, but the surrounding cast is mostly superb--though one particular line delivered by Ezio's uncle Mario might make you cringe.

The greatest beauty of Assassin's Creed II's exquisitely detailed environments is that you can run and jump across the rooftops with ease and climb the tallest towers to get a bird's-eye view of the game's glorious vistas. You control Ezio much as you did Altair, though movement feels a bit tighter and even more fluid than before. The game strikes an excellent middle ground between responding to player input and automating actions like leaping from one surface to the next, so it's simple to leap about the city smoothly without worrying that you're going to plummet to your death on the next hop. You'll still encounter a few awkward moments here and there: simply walking off a ledge onto a rooftop a few feet below can still be bit clumsy, for example. But these moments are few, and in fact, you'll pull off some awesome-looking moves without even trying. One of the many wonders of Assassin's Creed II is that the cities look so natural that they don't seem as if they were created for you to jump around in. Yet you might leap onto a wooden outcropping and find yourself skipping across a series of them, swinging and jumping with fluidity and style. Not only are there more opportunities for organic platforming sequences like these than in the original, but there are entire closed environments called tombs tailored to this kind of jumping.

Killing is more fun when you're dressed like an Italian pimp.

Tombs are more intricate levels in which you must retrieve an important artifact (and if you collect all of them, you are in for a special treat). Some of them are platforming puzzles of the best kind, in which you must figure out how to get from your starting point to the destination, in the manner of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Ezio can't run on walls like the Persian prince, but he's incredibly agile nonetheless, and swinging and hopping about rafters and chandeliers within the tombs is great fun. A few tombs throw some additional challenges at you, such as a time limit in which to reach your goal. The best tombs, however, are those in which you pursue an enemy but run into obstacles that force you to give chase using an alternate route. The chases are excellent, and they require quick reactions, but not so quick as to be unreasonable. Flawlessly keeping up with your target without breaking your momentum is one of Assassin's Creed II's greatest thrills, and as long as you are paying close attention, you can pull it off on the first attempt.

The climbing and jumping wouldn't be as rewarding if Ezio weren't so graceful, but he is one of the best-animated characters yet seen in a game. You'll admire his footwork early in the game in particular, when his assassin's garb does not veil the incredible animations of his legs and feet. When Ezio climbs, his hands are grabbing something and his feet are resting on something. Except on rare occasions, you won't see him pulling himself up using an invisible handle or stepping on a nonexistent ledge. It's a small touch, but it goes a long way toward making these acrobatics look believable. Ezio seems even more nimble than Altair; his legs move inward and cross a bit differently during a climb, and moves connect even more slickly. The only imperfection you are likely to notice is the lack of a transition animation when you bend to loot a body or treasure chest (more on this to come).

Fan's Guide to Walt Disney World

*This Discovery Channel HD special, Fan's Guide to Walt Disney World, shows you the ins and outs of making and spending a Disney World vacation from the fan's point of view. Two families, a young couple and three best friends show different perspectives on the Disney World property and its entertainment to give you an overview of the entire Disney vacation experience. Dining tips, utilizing FastPass, secret pathways, hidden Disney surprises, Disney at dark and much, much more are in store in the Fan's Guide to Walt Disney World.
* From Disney Park Videos

Part 01 - Meet the Families

Part 02 - Starting your Day

Magic Kingdom - Cinderella's Royal Table and Adventureland

It's Tough to be a Bug

Going to Hollywood Studios and Epcot

Grand Floridian Resor

Part 03 - Fans Favorites

Animal Kingdom - Dinoland USA

Hollywood Studios - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones.

Epcot - Test Track and Mission to Mars

Priority Seating

The Art of Disney

Soda Store - Free Coke

Part 04 - Parks & Restaurants

Hollywood Studios - Backlot Tour, Muppets 3D and Star Tours

Animal Kingdom - Rain Forest Café and Camp Minnie-Mickey
Magic Kingdom - Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland
Baby Care Center

Part 05 - Parks & Resorts

Animal Kingdom Park & Lodge - Epcot [World Showcase] - Fort Wilderness Resort -

Part 06 - Disney at Dark

Fantasmic - IllumiNations - Wishes - Downtown Disney

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