Author: Stephen

I'm Stephen Ashley. My wife and I are huge fans of Disney World. I'm the author of Walt Disney World With Disabilities. I also wrote a book called Walt Disney World Made Easy for Everyone, but rather than have it published, at this point we've decided to place all the material from the manuscript on this website so everyone can have access to it! I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it makes your day just a little bit brighter and easier.

What is there for you to do with your young and/or small kids? Disney does not have minimum ages for kids to go on their rides, but they do have minimum heights for many rides. Still, there’s plenty for children to see and do at Disney World, even if they’re below the height requirements of some rides. We’ll list the rides and attractions with NO HEIGHT REQUIREMENTS that children can participate in. If you’re looking for height requirements check out Disney’s page with that info here.  In addition to what we list below, the Disney parks all have various forms…

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Disney’s Pop Century Resort In-Depth Info for Everyone! Plus More for Those with Extra Challenges… Location: Adjacent to the Wide World of Sports Complex, next to Caribbean Beach Resort, across from Art of Animation, and not far from Hollywood Studios. Address: 1050 Century Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. Phone: (407) 938-4000 Fax: (407) 938-4040. Parking fee: $15 per night. Check-in: 3 PM. Check-out: 11 AM. Resort Type: Value. Pop Century is one of the more popular Disney Value Resorts. Since this resort got the new Skyliner transportation, it’s become even more popular. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a price hike.…

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Are you considering staying at a Disney World value resort? That can be a great decision. We get plenty of feedback from our readers saying they loved the experience. Many of them go back over and over. And why not! You get a full Disney experience with all the perks, at their most affordable rates. The value resorts include: All-Star Music All-Star Sports All-Star Movies Pop Century Art of Animation It’s important to realize that value resorts at Disney World can be noisy. The value resorts are highly favored by families with young children, and perhaps more importantly, by teenage…

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Disney World is in a constant state of change and the Disney World resorts are no exception. Personally I love that Disney keeps everything clean, modern and in great condition, and as a frequent visitor, I think it’s fun when they add something new. But… it’s important to know what’s going on when you’re deciding on what hotel to book. And sometimes you’ve made your reservation already, and Disney surprises you! It happens all the time. You’ve booked your resort, only to get a notice from Disney that there’s construction or renovation going on. Or you arrive at your resort and…

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Coffee lovers rejoice! There’s a new convenience at Disney World, and we’ll tell you how to use it! Now not only can you hang around Disney Springs and enjoy the shopping and entertainment, now you can have your coffee delivered to you while you do it! You must be on the Marketplace side of Disney Springs to have your order delivered. Personally I think it would be ideal to have coffee delivered to me while I’m watching one of the many concerts that take place around Disney Springs each evening. It can get chilly during the winter and a hot…

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From Our Friend Autumn Barnes, Travel Agent Intro from Stephen Ashley: I recently wrote an article called Riding Out Hurricanes at Walt Disney World, and our friend Autumn Barnes wrote a follow-up post on facebook. It was full of some great tips, so we asked her permission to include it on our site. (If you haven’t read my original article yet, be sure to check it out here. It’s full of info that is not on this page.) Here are Autumn’s tips, and if you need a travel agent, check out her agency at Pirate & Mermaid Vacations. Autumn’s Tips for Riding Out…

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What happens if there’s a hurricane while you’re at Disney World? Florida hurricane season runs from the beginning of June through the end of November. If you’re planning a trip to Disney World during that time, there’s always a chance a hurricane can impact your trip. If your trip is approaching and you see a hurricane brewing, or you find yourself in Orlando when a hurricane is coming, you’ll be asking some questions that I’ll be addressing in this article: If you haven’t left for your trip yet, should you cancel your trip? If you haven’t left for your trip…

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Is this man a musical genius? Or does he have too much time on his hands? Either way he’s clearly a Star Wars fan. Watch as he plays the play Darth Vader’s “Imperial March” theme from Star Wars using only a coffee stirrer. He’s speaking Russian by the way. Watch the video below: Join our facebook group!!!! Ask any questions, share your knowledge and just enjoy getting to know other Disney fanatics in our FACEBOOK GROUP: Walt Disney World Made Easy for Everyone. Also: Like our FACEBOOK DISNEY NEWS PAGE too for breaking Disney news. Also join me on Pinterest here. GET UPDATES, NEWS…

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Disney’s International Food & Wine Festival dates have been announced, and I’m happy to tell you that it’s been extended to a full 75 days long! The dates announced are August 31st through November 13th, 2017. This year Disney extended the festival into November, but now it will start much earlier too. The festival has usually started in the middle of September, and personally we’ve always planned a trip each year around that time. This will be an extra, unexpected treat for those who are coming in the beginning of September. Personally we love the Food & Wine Festival. We…

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By Catherine Lauer Have you found it difficult to come down from the high of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival that is eating and drinking your way around the world? Have you wished your trip dates could include one of Disney’s famous festivals? Fear not! Disney has added a new festival at Epcot, and it will feature plenty of art, music, and happily, good food! Epcot is launching the International Festival of the Arts, set to run Friday through Monday, weekly from January 13 – February 20, 2017. Illustrations at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts During the six weekends,…

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By Rebecca Joy (and thanks to Tawnya Titus for the great castle photo above) Each year around the holidays Disney goes all out to bring wonder and joy to this most magical season. Disney World lights up with special decorations, shows and activities. Even visiting the various Disney World resorts to see their decorations can be a lot of fun, and it’s free! For example you can see the special life-sized gingerbread house built each year in the Grand Floridian. You can even buy fresh baked gingerbread cookies from the store inside of it. To help you plan your holiday visit, we’ve put together…

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Disney’s just released the parties available for New Year’s Eve 2017, and you can book them now. Booking is now available for New Years Eve 2016 events all around Disney World. For the most part these events are very upscale with one sort of moderate event as the only exception. Here’s what’s available right now: Disney World’s California Grill New Year’s Eve Dinner  You’ll have incredible views of the Magic Kingdom Park, as well as some great food in one of Disney’s signature restaurants. This dine-around style event will have cooking stations throughout the restaurant. To make things much more fun, you’ll get see…

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Hey Disney friends, This is Stephen Ashley. We’re really happy to bring to you some awesome podcasts by our friend Nicholas Groome, AKA The Disney Dude. Here’s Nicholas: Welcome back Dudes and Dudettes to this, Episode 9, of The Disney Dude Podcast. I am your host the Disney Dude Himself, Nick Groome. It’s been a couple of weeks. Between being sick and Hurricane Matthew, we have been fighting the forces of the internet but alas we are back and … WE ARE LIVE! That’s right! We are streaming The Disney Dude Podcast live to facebook starting every Monday at 8:00…

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There’s a new show at Disney World for the Holiday Season! There’s something new at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the holiday season. Starting November 14th and running through December 31st, Disney World will be starting a new holiday show that will include some of their very cool projections on the Chinese Theater, special effects and fireworks. It will all be set to seasonal music. The show will be led by characters from the Disney animated special “Prep & Landing”. They’re named Wayne and Lanny. It will feature holiday moments from Disney films like: Mickey’s Christmas Carol Beauty and the Beast Pluto’s…

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For Disney Specific Storm News See Below. First, here is weather information: 10/7/16 – 9:48 am: According to News 6 WKMG / ClickOrlando, the hurricane is currently skirting the coast in Central Florida and some of the inner portion  of the hurricane, which is the strongest part, is on land. Central Florida Coast has gotten gusts up to 107 mph and is still experiencing the hurricane. Orlando is still getting Tropical Storm force gusts at around 45-48 mph. There is a flood watch for the Orange County. There is currently flooding in the coastal areas. These are local TV stations broadcasting…

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