You can't help but say "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" when you see this adorable baby giraffe born in Disney just 4 short weeks ago. His name is Bonsu and he is the fourth baby giraffe born in Disney's Animal Kingdom this year. He's the 11th giraffe born in Disney since Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, according to the Associated Press.
I have a new appreciation for giraffes since staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge last December and watching them walk around the Savannah every day. My family says I took way too many pictures and video of them during that trip. It was incredible to watch them stretch their long necks to reach leaves on the trees. When they ran it looked like they were moving in slow motion.
As fast-paced as a Disney vacation can be, you only have to spend a little time watching these animals to relax and appreciate them. Even if you're not staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, take a bus there and you can view the Savannah from one of the viewing areas near the guest rooms. They come complete with wooden rocking chairs to sit in and relax.

I've always been a skeptic of buying into a time share. They usually sound too good to be true and I've had friends who have experienced using a time share that was in less than satisfactory condition when they arrived. They didn't stay one night. Instead they got a hotel room.
Now I've given thought to a Disney Vacation Club on several occasions. I visited one of their vacation club resorts (Boardwalk) on one of my visits. It was gorgeous and exactly how I'd like to vacation.
Lately, the temptation has been even greater! Because I know Disney's quality and attention to detail and customer service is so great, I'd seriously consider buying a Disney Vacation Club. And it appears to me that 2009 just might be the year to buy. Disney recently announced it is beginning to sell it's new Bay Lake Towers, the newest in the Disney Vacation Club family. Located right next to the Contemporary Resort facing the Magic Kingdom, this resort makes it quite tempting. Add to that Disney's recent announcement that they are adding a Disney Vacation Club Resort in Hawaii, and it becomes even more tempting. Disney's Vacation Club points can be used in so many places that even if I got tire of Disney World (which would never happen!), I'd have other places to go.
And while many time share salespeople are pushy about buying and vague about details, the Disney Vacation Club cast members offered a lot of information but not a lot of pushiness.
The way I see it is that you will spend on a Disney Vacation Club the same amount of money you would spend on a certified used car. Once paid off, you still have the points to use every year for the next 45 years. This way even though I may not know exactly where I'm spending my vacation, I'll know I don't have to worry about being satisfied with my accommodations.

Disney wasted no time opening a new restaurant in Downtown Disney this week -barely two weeks after closing the night clubs in Downtown Disney.
T Rex Cafe is a prehistoric dining experience created by Landry's Restaurants, the owner of the Rainforest Cafe.
You won't have to worry about keeping antsy children busy in this restaurant while waiting for your meal to arrive! A dinosaur dig area offers clean dirt (maybe it's more sand-like) for children to dig for dinosaur bones. The scenery alone will probably keep children and adults alike busy throughout the entire meal.
Animatronic prehistoric animals are on display throughout the restaurant. And like the Rainforest Cafe, it has a gift shop filled with prehistoric souvenirs to buy.
The restaurant also has a dinosaur building workshop where you can buy, build and take home your favorite prehistoric friend.
The menu appears to be similar to the Rainforest Cafe (but with different menu item names), offering a variety of appetizers, sandwiches and entrees.
This restaurant will probably be popular for quite some time so if you're planning to visit Disney soon and want to go there, you should probably make a reservation by calling 407-WDW-DINE.

The holiday season is one of the best times to visit Disney. The summer heat and humidity give way to cool nights and comfortable days.

You don't have to wait until December to see Disney decorated for Christmas either. My neighbor told me went she visited Disney many years ago over Thanksgiving, Disney transformed the resorts into their Christmas decor on Thanksgiving night. She said the transformation was amazing and apparently happened while everyone slept. Now I think Disney moves into the holiday season in stages. Disney decorates it parks and resorts using 150 tractor trailer loads of holiday decorations.

Each resort is decorated with the resort's theme. Large, elaborately decorated Christmas trees can be found near each park's entrance. Photopass photographers are at every great photo spot ready to take your picture. If you've never used photopass, just have your picture taken by a photopass photographer (free!) and ask him for a photopass card (also free!). Keep the card and give it to any other photopass photographer you have take your pictures. When you get home from your vacation, there's a website listed on the card. You go to it and view all the photos you had taken. The only cost is if you purchase pictures (and they're reasonably priced too!). This is a great service Disney offers. Especially because they sometimes add some Disney magic to your photo ;)

There are many street shows in Disney parks. Some of this type of entertainment is scheduled and some isn't. Next to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in the Magic Kingdom, you can sometimes catch the Captain Jack performance. (pictured here). Although Jack is not Johnny Depp, he looks and talks just like him. They perform about a 10 minute show and always brings a crowd.

In Animal Kingdom there's a performer we called "tree woman." She was covered in vines and on stilts (which could not be seen). She wasn't visible until we started to see part of a tree move and realize it was her with her arms wrapped around the tree.

In Disney Studios there are scheduled performances of a band called Mulch, Sweat and Sheers. They pull up in a truck and just start playing well-known rock and roll songs that everyone can sing along to. I'm not sure if this band plays all year long or seasonally. But if you have the chance to watch them, you're in for a treat.

Epcot is probably the park with the most street performances going on. You can pretty much see something in every country. In France, we watched a performer carefully balance wooden chairs on top of each other then climb to the top which I guessed to be about 18 feet high.

Even if you're not a "ride person," there's plenty of entertainment watching Disney performers.