A Unique Travel Option...A Review

Walt Disney World in Florida

by Al Kessel

Well, regular readers of the Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast blog (phew, that's a mouthful) know that typically, we are asked to review movies, and occasionally a product or two. However, recently, we were contacted by a Disney lover who is offering a very unique service - one I at least have never heard of.  One that, quite honestly, looks a bit interesting. 

Andrew, owner of a new, online business called Mouse Consultants, specializing in offering affordable vacation planning and consultations for guests visiting the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. (At least for the time being, the only resort he has recommendations for is this one) According to Andrew, his goal is to "help visitors avoid the infamous Disney crowds and have the most seamless vacation possible". Lofty goal, huh? Well, Andrew offered us a 'review copy' of his services, and recommended the 'MegaMouse Vacation Package', which offers the most extensive planning and travel advice he has. I'll get into detail on the other packages he offers later. So, of course we took him up on his offer - hey, it was free! Only problem was, we weren't planning a trip to Walt Disney World any time in the near (or semi-distant) future, what with our current situation and all. I explained that to Andrew and we decided to go ahead anyway, and just act like we were...

Now, the whole thing starts out by visiting Andrew's website at mouseconsultant.com and clicking on the Featured Products page. Here you'll find five packages (at the time of this writing) to choose from:

• One Day Disney Park Touring Plan - Consists of a personalized single-day touring plan for any park(s) at the Walt Disney World Resort. Features recommended attractions for you and your family; suggested timing to minimize wait times; proposed dining locations within the Parks. Cost of this package is $19.99
• Disney Hotel Package - Walt Disney World features 23 resort hotels, each designed to accommodate different tastes and budgets. After purchasing this package, you will receive a list of the top three, best-suited hotels for you and your family. Cost of this package is $24.99
• FastPass+ Planning Package - In 2013, the Walt Disney World Resort unveiled a revolutionary new system, called FastPass+. It allows visitors to make reservations for their favorite attractions, up to two months before their trip. This package includes: An in-depth introduction to the FastPass+ system; suggested FastPass+ scheduling for each day of your vacation; email support for the 'My Disney Experience' website and app. Cost of this package is $24.99
• Five Day Disney Parks Touring Package - It takes at least five days to see everything Walt Disney World has to offer! With our Five-Day Disney Vacation Package, you can be sure to make the most of your stay. This package includes: Suggested Park Touring Plans (5 days) to minimize wait time; recommended attractions and dining locations for your family; personalized travel tips. Cost of this package is $39.99
• MegaMouse Vacation Package (the one we were offered) - The MegaMouse Vacation Package combines all of our travel plans and advice to help you make the most of your Walt Disney World Vacation! The package includes: Suggested Disney Park Touring plans to minimize wait times; List of Recommended Disney Attractions & Restaurants; Top Three Proposed Disney Resort Hotels 
• -Personalized Travel Tips & Suggestions; Ideal Timeline For Booking Hotels, Restaurants and Attractions; Unlimited Email Support Up-To And Through Your Vacation; Support For The "My Disney Experience" Website And Mobile App. Cost for this package is $59.99

All the above information will be personally tailored to the family's needs, and will be both mailed and sent electronically.  AND...this is important: Andrew is NOT a travel agent, therefore he does NOT book anything for you, nor does it arrange hotel reservations, dining reservations, show reservations, etc. His services RECOMMEND all of these things. So, keep that in mind.

Now, once you purchase your desired package, Andrew will send you a link to a survey form asking the typical questions you'd expect about your vacation wish list. Once he receives your answers, he starts working on a package (depending on your purchase) based on the survey. He'll also recommend optimal times to visit (such as the Holidays). The next thing you can expect is a reply with all of his recommendations (in a first draft, just to see if you're comfortable with his preliminary work), and once you approve those, he'll send you a follow-up email going in to much deeper detail in terms of restaurants, attractions to visit, how to avoid lines, etc. Very helpful stuff. 

As I mentioned, Andrew offered us the MegaMouse package. Now, one of the things I explained was that I had never visited Walt Disney World...ever. So, he designed a vacation (again, based on our answers to the survey) that included arrival date and departure date,  a hotel from our choice of 'comfort level' (and price range), with a price per night, car rental, and Park tickets. No airfare or flight information was included. Andrew also included a general itinerary indicating which parks to visit on which days. Also, with the MegaMouse package, once we approved the plans he sent, he would have included the FastPass+ and touring plans. Here's an example of the itinerary he devised for us, based on our desire to visit Walt Disney World during the Holiday Season:

-Saturday (12/6): Arrival at Resort

-Sunday (12/7): Disney's Hollywood Studios 

-Monday (12/8): EPCOT

-Tuesday (12/9): The Magic Kingdom

-Wednesday (12/10): Disney's Animal Kingdom

-Thursday (12/11): The Magic Kingdom

-Friday (12/12): EPCOT

-Saturday (12/13): The Magic Kingdom 

-Sunday (12/14): Departure

Also, since I indicated I had never visited WDW before, Andrew included some history and a brief overview of each park - a very nice touch. 

Ok, now, for MY thoughts on this...well, I think it's an extremely clever idea. I do. Good on Andrew for creating a business out of something he truly loves. It is very clear that he has both a love and deep knowledge of the Walt Disney World Resort. I honestly applaud anyone who sets out to make a dream come true, especially if that dream includes earning (or attempting to earn) a living doing something that you love doing. And I can (I think) see where this idea came about. Anyone who is a FAN of a Disney Park, and gains any sort of reputation for their knowledge of said Parks, soon becomes the 'go-to' person for friends, friends of friends, etc. 'Hey Al, we're thinking of taking a trip to Disneyland someday. Got any suggestions?' Ah...YEP! So to me, I think that's how Andrew got his inspiration.

But the question is: are the services Andrew, through MouseConsultant, offers worth spending money on? Well, that's up to you. Remember, Andrew is not a travel agent. What you are paying for is his knowledge and his RECOMMENDATIONS on what you SHOULD do based on his experience. If you like what he's suggested, then it's up to YOU to book and pay for everything. So, if you're the type who doesn't want to do the research for themselves, and are ok with paying someone to make recommendations for you, then sure, this service is for you. Would we recommend MouseConsultant? I think so, but with the caveat that this is all stuff that you can find on your own, or perhaps through a friend who also has knowledge. OR, through a Disney Travel Agent who CAN book all of these things for you. 

If you'd like more information on Andrew and MouseConsultants, visit him at www.mouseconsultant.com 

Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast...Episode 80

Welcome to Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland podcast EPISODE 80!!! YEA!!!! On this special episode, we stray from our usual format a bit, but for good reason. We thought that since it IS the Halloween Season and all, and we DO love the Disneyland Resort at this time of year, we’d share the complete audio/music from the Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction! Yep, good ol’ Jack Skellington himself has taken over the Haunted Mansion and turned it into a Holiday DEE-LIGHT! Oh, and we share what’s going on around the old Tales Homestead, and a few Disneyland Resort News tidbits. 

It's The Most Wonderful Time...of the Year

Yeah, and we've got to admit, we get a little...'odd' in our Host Chat segment. What can we say? It's been a weird few weeks! What with missing Disneyland and all...yeah, we NEED a Disneyland trip!

This time of year always makes me (Al) a bit lonely for Disneyland. I mean, the fall/Halloween decorations, the slight chill in the air during the days, the very chilly nights. One of THE best, if not THE best, times to visit the Resort. Everything is so...so...awesome! I'm sure you've heard the story a thousand times, but this was the season I made my first ever visit to Disneyland. And the season I got hooked on Disneyland. So, if YOU'RE planning a trip to the Happiest Place On Earth, I highly recommend going during the Halloween season! 

Hey, if you have a favorite Halloween Disneyland memory, how about sharing with us? We'd LOVE to share it with other listeners on our Halloween Special coming up in October. In fact, it doesn't HAVE to be a Disneyland story. It could be ANY Disney Park or even just a favorite Halloween story. We always love to hear from you guys! 

Hey, if YOU'RE in need of a great travel agent, why not give our sponsor, Randy Crane from Mouse Ear Vacations a holler! I bet he can make YOUR vacation a MAGICAL one! Visit Randy at www.randyc-mouseearvacations.com. NOW is the time to book your Disneyland Holiday adventure! 

As always, If you’d like to send in comments for the show, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, leave us voicemail on the Hotline at 304-TALES23, leave us feedback in iTunes or leave comments for us on our Twitter account @talespodcast. Heck, you can even find us on FaceBook, just search for Tales From The House House - Disneyland podcast! If you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on iTunes, on our podcast site at talescast.com, the direct episode link: Episode 80, or on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

Tales From The Mouse House...Episode 67

Dapper Days 2013

Welcome to episode 67! As we said at the beginning of the year...we’re offering up some out of the normal episodes in 2013 and THIS episode is ONE OF THOSE! On this PACKED FULL episode (yeah, it’s LONG), we share two awesome interviews and a terrific review from our GREAT Disney friend Mr. Daps! First up, our recent chat with Michele Morabito about her experiences at the Dapper Days event at Disneyland. This is one cool "unofficial but recognized" Day to behold. Imagine visiting Disneyland when Walt himself walked the Resort. Everyone dressed up in their "Sunday Best". Well, THAT'S what Dapper Days is like! Guests wearing awesome period outfits, from the 1940's and 50's. Michele describes her visit and her lucky breakfast at Club 33!

Michele at Dapper Days...Inside Club 33!

Then, our great friend Mr. Daps is joined by Murray The Bell Hop and Roger Rabbit to discuss their coverage of the all new Fantasy Faire in Fantasy Land (Disneyland). Talk about adding a bit of fairytale magic to your Disneyland Resort vacation...recently Disney did JUST that! And Daps Magic was there for the scoop, and shares with us!

All New Fantasy Faire at Disneyland

Then, if all THAT weren’t enough, Joyce turns the microphone on me and author David Smith and we discuss Dave’s awesome new book, In The Shadow of the Matterhorn: Intimate Stories about Life, Love and Laughter at Disneyland - his behind the scenes look at Disneyland from a cast members perspective! Then, we launch an awesome new contest that can put YOU in the Shadow Of The Matterhorn!

All New Audiobook Narrated By Al Kessel!

Hey, if YOU'RE in need of a great travel agent, why not give our sponsor, Randy Crane from Mouse Ear Vacations a holler! I bet he can make YOUR vacation a MAGICAL one! Visit Randy at www.randyc-mouseearvacations.com 

As always, If you’d like to send in comments for the show, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, leave us voicemail on the Hotline at 304-TALES23, leave us feedback in iTunes or leave comments for us on our Twitter account @talespodcast. Heck, you can even find us on FaceBook, just search for Tales From The House House - Disneyland podcast! If you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on iTunes, on our podcast site at talescast.com, the direct episode link: Episode 67, or on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

AND, we're listed on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

Thanks for making us part of your Disney experience and remember…
"Make It A Mickey Day!" ~~ Al & Joyce

Tales From The Mouse House...Episode 66

Welcome to episode 66! On this show we thought we’d give you all a special treat...we share some of our favorite audio from the Disneyland Resort! That’s right, every time we visit the Happiest Place On Earth, we take our trusty Sony personal recorder with us and capture as much audio as we can: from the attractions, the shows and even just the atmospheric stuff! We LOVE the sounds of Disneyland! On this episode, we share some of our favorites. First up, the BEST sound you can hear: the opening announcement from Disneyland for the day! 

You Are Part Of The Rebellion!

Our next offering is the ACTUAL audio from Star Tours 2.0! Join us as we unwittingly join the Rebel Alliance in a...gulp...battle with the EMPIRE! Will we survive??? 

Then a couple that will make you laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more - our good friend Kenny (from the M*A*S*H 4077th podcast) met us at Disneyland during one visit and he rode California Screamin’ with Joyce (and yes, he DID scream!) and the Hollywood Tower Of Terror with me (and yes, he DID scream!). 

Get Ready Screamers!!

Oh By The Way...It's HAUNTED

Then we close it out with a long audio from one of the classic shows from Disneyland - Captain EO! The ENTIRE SHOW AUDIO...including those snazzy dance numbers!

He's Bad, He's Bad, You Know It!!

We've got a lot of great shows planned for you coming soon. As we mentioned, we're going to the Disney D23 Fanniversary Event in Phoenix this Wednesday, and you know us! We'll take LOTS of photos, LOTS of video and LOTS of audio (and I won't wait to put them up this time!). And...in case you haven't heard yet, the audiobook version of In The Shadow Of The Matterhorn: Intimate Stories about Life, Love and Laughter at Disneyland is complete AND available for purchase! YEAH! You can visit Audible.Com to pick up YOUR copy, or visit iTunes and buy it there. It's an awesome story and, oh, by the way...I narrated it!! (me...Al). The author, David Smith, will be on Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast VERY soon to chat about the book...in fact, Joyce is turning the tables on ME and putting me in the interviewee seat, and she'll interview me and Dave about the whole audiobook conversion process...so yeah...THAT's going to be FUN! A LOT of funny stories, let me tell you. 

Hey, if YOU'RE in need of a great travel agent, why not give our sponsor, Randy Crane from Mouse Ear Vacations a holler! I bet he can make YOUR vacation a MAGICAL one! Visit Randy at www.randyc-mouseearvacations.com 

As always, If you’d like to send in comments for the show, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, leave us voicemail on the Hotline at 304-TALES23, leave us feedback in iTunes or leave comments for us on our Twitter account @talespodcast. Heck, you can even find us on FaceBook, just search for Tales From The House House - Disneyland podcast! And why not check out our new blog site at www.talespodcast.blogspot.com for some awesome stories? You can find more detailed show notes there as well.

AND, we're listed on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

Thanks for making us part of your Disney experience and remember…
"Make It A Mickey Day!" ~~ Al & Joyce

Happiest Blog On Earth...Ayres Hotel Anaheim

A GREAT Off-Property Alternative...     

By now, most of you know that Joyce and I love staying at the On-Property Hotels at the Disneyland Resort. Our favorite of course is the Grand Californian. I don't like using this word often, but I do use it to describe this hotel - elegant! How else would you describe this place? Don't get me wrong, the Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier are awesome as well, just in different ways. I could go on, but this isn't about the Resort Hotels...it's about the next best thing: Ayres Hotels of Southern California -   Anaheim. 

Ayres Hotel Anaheim

Ok, truthfully, it IS kind of spendy to stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel. I won't lie. If you can afford to do it all the time, awesome! If not, then you're like most of us. So, on our most recent visit to the Disneyland Resort, Joyce and I had a serious talk about where to stay. We WANTED to stay at a Resort Hotel, but it just wasn't in the budget this trip. So, we began looking at the "Good Neighbor" hotels, and found a lot of nice places...but they still carried that spendy price tag. So, we decided to expand our search a little. Of course, the farther away from the Parks you go, the less expensive, that's pretty logical. But the farther you go, the less convenient it is. Again...pretty logical. We wanted to save some money, but at the same time wanted to be close to the Resort. So Joyce remembered this chain of hotels she came across when we were looking for a place to stay when we visited Coronado. The Ayres Hotels of Southern California. She found that there was one only two miles from Disneyland! And, right off the interstate! Two BIG pluses. She got on their website, showed me the photos - very nice - and of course, read the reviews. And let me tell you, we were hard pressed to find ANYTHING negative. Oh there were a few things: room was too loud (uh, right off the interstate dude), and the room was too hot (I'll reply to that comment in a moment). So we decided to book our room. 

The reservation process was super easy. We reserved a King Room, nothing special. About a week before our vacation, they sent us an email confirming everything. First, let me tell you, getting there was almost too easy! The hotel is located literally right off the interstate, across the street from the Honda Center on Katella Avenue in Anaheim. As we pulled into the drive-way, we were both blown away by how beautiful the place is. The exterior of the Hotel is truly beautiful, the grounds are well kept, clean. As we walked in to the lobby, once again, blown away! Beautifully ornate fireplace going; comfy regal looking chairs around it; inviting seating areas. The whole package. Check-in was one of the best experiences we've ever had. Second only to the Grand Californian. Seriously. The girl who processed our check-in was extremely friendly, welcomed us to the Hotel and to California, answered all questions we had, then gave us a detailed map of the grounds and where our room was located. Ok, on to the room.

King Bed Room - VERY comfortable bed

Or room was located on the third floor. And although we booked a standard king, the room we walked in to was far from that. Our king sized bed was THE most comfortable bed I've experienced (made it difficult to get up in the morning!), very comfy leather easy chair, awesome sofa, small table and chairs for dining, business desk and comfortable chair, 32" flat screen TV (yeah!) and honestly, the bath area was beautiful too. There was also a kind of wet-bar area, with a microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker and a small sink. Oh, and one of the coolest things: next to the bed, an iHome MP3 alarm clock/radio where you could plug your iPhone or iPod into! And of course, free Wi-Fi, which came in handy because our AT&T Mi-Fi's (personal wi-fi devices), couldn't find a signal! Our room had an awesome view as well. We faced the direction of Disneyland (and the interstate), and didn't really realize how wonderful this was until Monday night, when Disneyland launched the Halloween Fireworks Show. We could see it from our room! BONUS!!

Sitting/Dining/Wet Bar Area

The hotel offered free parking and a daily free buffet style breakfast. Now, the parking was great. Convenient and safe, well lit. The breakfast, well, although I'm sure it's very good, Joyce and I are a little picky about our dining experiences, I don't know, maybe we've watched too many of those Mystery Diner shows on the Food Network! So, since we weren't even aware of the free breakfast, we just skipped that perk and ate at the Park. So, on to the negative comments we've read about the Ayres. One of the comments was that the hotel was too loud, too much traffic noise. Uh...right off the interstate! Yes, we could hear some traffic noise, but honestly, it wasn't bad at all. On a scale of 1-5 for loudness, I'd say our room was about a 1.75. Believe me, because we record podcasts I'm VERY sensitive to external noise! The second complaint was that the room was too hot. Uh, nope! Now maybe something has changed since that reviewer stayed, but if anything, our A/C worked TOO WELL!! It was at times, COLD. We had to bundle up in bed...but that's not necessarily a bad thing!  Now, the rooms are eco-friendly, there's a device on the wall as you enter where you have to put one of your room key cards in, in order to have the power in the room active. This is so if you're gone for a long time, you're not wasting electricity. So, it's obvious that if you remove the card, the power goes out, as does the A/C. So maybe that contributed to the heat in the room? For our visit, neither of these negative comments were validated at all.  

Cozy Dining Area

The whole place, including the rooms, is decorated in a European inspired look, and it kind of gives you the feeling you're in a cross between a Disneyland Resort Hotel and the Bellagio in Las Vegas!  The entire place was very comfortable, very clean, very inviting, very convenient. One thing that did kind of strike me as odd: the Ayres Hotel IS a Disney Good Neighbor Hotel, however, it's not advertised in any Disney media as such. Why? In my opinion, Ayres is much nicer, cleaner and affordable than MANY of the Good Neighbor Hotels within walking distance to the Resort. This hotel certainly aligns with that wonderful Disney Customer Service Magic. 

Nice, Clean Bath Area

Joyce and I will certainly be returning to the Ayres Hotel Anaheim in the future. The price is perfect for anyone, especially those going to the Disneyland Resort on a budget. But the great thing is, IF you ARE on a budget, staying here you won't have to give up comfort, convenience and elegance (there's that word again!) in favor of money. You get the best of all worlds here. And they usually have awesome package deals, or discounts available. Joyce and I took advantage of their Autumn Special when we went, and currently they're running similar specials. Just check out their website for complete details (http://www.ayresanaheim.com). Since hotel reviews are new for me, I'm going to create a new rating scale: instead of 1-4 stars, I'm giving 1-4 E-Tickets (with one being STAY AWAY and four being STAY HERE!). So, Ayres Hotels of Southern California - Anaheim receives 4 E-Tickets from Tales From The Mouse House! ~~ Al