The Defias Blog

If you’ve never been to Disney World in Orlando, words cannot truly begin to describe the atmosphere they create there. “Magic” has become the standard, of course, but in a world where magic doesn’t exist, even that word struggles to convey the spectacle! When I was 12, my family visited the Magic Kingdom section of the humongous park and had a blast; unfortunately, we didn’t know that to see all of Disney World is a week-long affair because each of the six parks easily takes a day (or more) to fully enjoy (and that doesn’t even include Downtown Disney, Cirque du Soleil or any of the other ‘extra’ attractions at the Disney World resort).

This year, I want to go again to experience the wonders of a Disney Christmas extravaganza. I’ve heard so much about Disney World during the holidays, but never had the pleasure. After all, it’s so expensive to visit the Disney World resort (a 3-day stay will run you about $600, and that’s not counting airfare and/or gas and all of the other expenses!). But if one is so inclined, and looks hard enough, alternatives can be found!

This year on select nights between November 10 and December 19, WDW is throwing a party called Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, incorporating “everything you love about Christmas plus the unforgettable fantasy of the Magic Kingdom® Park.” For me, this is pretty significant as the title of the event seems to herald the end of Old Navy’s Chrismahannukwanzakuh nonsense and a return to the Holiday Season I grew up with: Santa Claus, Rudolph, Frosty and everything else that Christmas brings! The celebration features:

• Castle Dream Lights
• Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade
• Live Disney Character stage shows
• Character greetings throughout the Park
• Complimentary Cookies and hot cocoa
• Snow on Main Street, U.S.A.

Now, while all that is well and good, it still doesn’t help the expense. Yes, we’ll still have quite a bit of cash to dole out, but there are easy ways to find discounted airfare and hotel accommodations during the holiday season. But discount Disney tickets are a different story, and I’ve found just that! You could pay the Day-of-Entry prices of $55.95 plus tax (Ages 10 and up) and $49.95 plus tax (Ages 3-9) for adults and children respectively, or you could check available dates at OrlandoFunTickets.com and pay up to 25% less. I know the economy is bad right now and money is tight, but we’re hoping we can find a way and, if you can, I urge you to do the same. There is no place in the world that provides as unforgettable a family experience than Disney World in Orlando.

Rumor has it Santa himself might visit Mickey’s Party!

Last week, we rehashed Garbad’s review of the "Garbad’s Ship of the Week - ‘Conquistador’ Sleek Frigate". This week the ‘Deliverance’ Heavy Frigate is under scrutiny as Garbad examines each of its strengths and weaknesses with an eye toward how best it can be employed in the various combat scenarios a captain is likely to find himself in on Pirates of the Burning Seas.

While not technically a part of the “Ship of the Week” article, I’ll also include a short discussion of the differences between Open Sea (OS) PvP and Port Battle (PB) PvP in which the Heavy Deliverance was used as an example.
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