Disney has just released a new room-only discount for dates throughout spring, with a black-out period for spring break/Easter. The offer must be booked by January 12, 2012, and it’s good for travel dates February 21-March 31, 2012 and April 13-June 14, 2012. Discounts are kind of all over the place based on dates (you might save more on certain nights), but here is the basic outline for most dates:

• All Value Resorts,  Fort Wilderness Cabins, Port Orleans French Quarter, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Polynesian: 20% off
• Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, and Port Orleans Riverside: 25% off
• All other Deluxe Resorts and Deluxe Villas: 30% off

This discount is available on the ”special offers” page of Disney’s website, and you don’t need a booking code.

Amazon has some great deals on Disney Wii games right now. Plus, if you spend $25 or more, shipping is free! Here are some of my top picks:

 $19.96 (great for older kids and adults!)

 $29.96 (includes microphone)

 $15.99 (my girls love this!)

 $19.46 (ditto on this one!)

 $15.99

The taping of the Diney Parks Christmas Day Parade will take place this Friday and Saturday, December 2 & 3 at the Magic Kingdom. Unless you’re determined to actually see the taping–and willing to camp out on Main Street and miss some of your other favorite attractions–I recommend skipping the MK on these two days and focusing on other Parks, as there will be some interruptions in the usual entertainment schedule at the MK. For example, the Main Street Trolley (or its accompanying “show”) will not be running either day, and neither will the “Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it!” street party. The “Dream Along with Mickey” castle show will still run on Friday, but will not on Saturday. And the “Celebrate a Dream Come True” parade will start later on both days, at 5:00 p.m., and will begin in Frontierland.

I learned last week that Animal Kingdom would be losing a few key character meet-n-greets in December–namely, Jiminy Cricket and Pocahontas, who can currently be found at Rafiki’s Planet Watch. (Sad, because this is really the only place where these two characters can currently be experienced in a meet-n-greet setting.) What I didn’t know at the time (and still don’t know, as it is merely a rumor at this point) is that the entire area including the Conservation Station, Affection Section, Habitat Habit!, and the Wildlife Express Train may be closing as early as January to make room for the new Avatar Land.

It was originally thought that Camp Minnie-Mickey would be the casualty to the much-anticipated, film-inspired land of the Nav’i–with the relocation of The Festival of the Lion Kingto another area in the Park–but moving the characters out of Rafiki’s Planet Watch is a good indication that Disney has other plans. While I’m not a huge fan of the attractions that may fall victim to the expansion, I do think they have merit but have been under-utilized. The learning potential of the Conservation Station appeals to me as a homeschooling mom, but on our visits we have not seen much in the way of Cast Member/animal interaction. I would love to see Disney give guests a more intimate look into what they actually do at AK. Instead, the CS exhibits have become rather static, without much CM interaction or views of actual animal care. (I’m not asking them to perform surgery on a giraffe in the viewing area, but it would have been cool to see them giving a turtle an exam…you get the idea.)

So, what do you think? Would you rather see Disney close Camp Minnie-Mickey (assuming they relocate The Festival of the Lion King) or Rafiki’s Planet Watch?

It’s Cyber Monday, and you know what that means! Not much, really, since most online retailers have been having great deals since last Thursday. However, today on DisneyStore.com, you can get free shipping with no minimum purchase by using the promo code CYBER. That’s a great bonus for those of us who don’t have a Disney Store in our hometowns and aren’t prepared to purchase the typical minimum of $75 to get free shipping.

I’m buying some PJs and a couple of Disney Parks Christmas ornaments. What’s on your Disney Store wish list?

Happy Black Friday everyone! In honor of this occasion, enjoy this photo from the Once Upon a Toy store in Downtown Disney, circa 2009. Mr. Potato Head is displaying the “blue screen of death.” Maybe that’s why they removed these interactive computers.