I think this contest is tons of fun! Did you know that Pixar chief John Lasseter got his start with Disney as a Jungle Cruise skipper at Disneyland? It’s true! And if you’re a lucky Park guest who just happened to be in the Land in 1977 or 1978, and if you were fortunate enough to have John as your skipper on the Jungle Cruise, AND if you had the forethought (or just the touristy tendency) to take a photo of Skipper John…well, you just might win a trip to Disneyland for the Grand Opening of Cars Land, as well as a private cruise with Skipper John as he reprises his former role. How fun is that?!?

Watch this video for more details.

In this post, I told you about a limited free fall dining promotion. It would seem that Disney has shifted the eligible dates just a bit, and I wanted to share the new dates with you. Here are the new dates, along with the previously published dates:

• October 1–6, 2011 (was October 2–8)
• October 22–November 3 (was October 23–November 5)
• November 12–17 (was November 13–18)
• November 26–December 1 (was November 27–December 3)
• December 10–15 (was December 11–17)
• January 8–12 (was January 8–14)
• January 21–February 2 (was January 22–February 4)
• February 11–16 (was February 12–18)
• March 3–8 (was March 4–10)
• March 24–29 (was March 25–31)

All the same rules and minimum stays/ticket purchases apply.

You may remember that I was able to get a free High School Musical bike for my daughter’s birthday in July by redeeming my Disney Movie Rewards points. If you’re not a member of Disney Movie Rewards, you really should be. You get free stuff just for going to see Disney movies and/or purchasing them on DVD or Blu-ray. And you’re doing that already, right? Why not be rewarded for it!

Last week, I cashed in another 1750 points to purchase Season 1 and Season 2 of the Kim Possible series on DVD.

My oldest daughter, Reagan, became interested in Kim Possible when we did the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure at Epcot. But, of course, the show is no longer running on Disney Channel. Reagan has been watching clips of the shows on Disney’s website, and she just can’t seem to get enough of it. So, I thought this would be a great little surprise for her to watch on the drive to Disney World in a few weeks.

Speaking of our trip, the official countdown is exactly 19 days until we arrive at Walt Disney World (18 until we start our trip). We can’t wait!

Here’s yet another reason to carry your own beverages into Walt Disney World: prices for soft drinks (sodas…pop…cokes…whatever you happen to call them in your region of the country) at many of the restaurants throughout the Parks have just gone up from $2.19 and $2.49 to $2.59 and $2.89 each! (That’s a 40 cent price increase, for those of you who are math-challenged.) There doesn’t appear to be an increase yet on bottled water, milk, coffee, or juice at this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that soon.

We’re heading to Indiana today to visit Grandma & Grandpa (my parents). This photo, featuring Grandpa, is from Presley’s first visit to WDW.

I’m not a big hat wearer–at least not when I’m touring the Disney Parks. To me, it’s just one more thing to keep up with–am I right, moms? Still, after an afternoon rain shower at WDW (which is an almost-daily occurance in Central Florida), it’s nice to have something to cover my bad hair. (I also find that hats help keep those cheap plastic rain ponchos in place on your head!)

But how do you keep up with your hat while you ride Thunder Mountain Railroad? Thursday’s Tip: bring a carabiner. It’s a funny word, right? But these little multi-purpose clips are great for keeping up with anything from your cap to a set of keys. They come in a variety of shapes/sizes, and they often have extra features such as a compass or flashlight attached (as in the picture below). I try to take along a few extras to clip miscellaneous items to either my belt loop or purse–or even the stroller, when we were still taking one into the Parks.  (My kids even use them to keep up with their ever-growing Silly Bandz collection!) Here are a few of our favorite caribiners in action: