The ship was built in 80 blocks that were then put together. This last one was a 260-ton portion of the ship’s bow, complete with the signature Disney Cruise Line golden filigree.

Now the attention shifts to inside the cruise ship, where all of the interiors need to be completed in time for the first cruise on the Disney Dream in January 2011.

“With the steel construction process complete, we’re now looking forward to exciting new milestones such as the installation of AquaDuck, the first water coaster at sea,” said Disney Cruise Line President Karl Holz. “Each day, the ship gets closer to its Maiden Voyage, and it is clear that the Disney Dream is destined to be one of the most spectacular ships afloat.”

The Disney Dream will sail alternating three- and four-night cruises to the Bahamas and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. During summer 2011, the ship will sail four- and five-night itineraries with two stops at Castaway Cay.

You can already book a Disney cruise on the Disney Dream, before it even leaves the shipyard. I recommend contacting the travel agents at Enchanted Destinations to book your Disney cruise. They are experts on the ships and itineraries, and they know how to get you the vacation of your dreams at the very best price available.

The Disney Wonder is moving to the West Coast next winter to offer cruises to the Mexican Riviera and to Alaska. In between its arrival in L.A. and the first Mexican Riviera cruise, Disney Cruise Lines has decided to offer a 2-night “cruise to nowhere” January 21-23, 2011.

What’s a “cruise to nowhere?” Just what it sounds like! You get two nights on board the Disney Wonder, but it won’t be stopping in port anywhere. It’s a great chance to check out all the activities available on the ship.

It’s also a great price. Inside cabins start at $438.86 for TWO adults. That’s less than $250 each. And it includes the taxes and government fees.

Disney is calling this cruise a “weekend getaway,” and I think it would be a great little trip for anyone close to Los Angeles. You could try cruising for the first time, try Disney Cruise Line for the first time, or at these prices, try a more luxurious cabin than you would normally book.

You can book this Disney cruise through Enchanted Destinations.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite parks for younger children because of all of the animal sightings and the great shows. Here are a couple of rides that the preschool set will enjoy:

Kilimanjaro Safaris: Climb into an off-road vehicle for this safari through 100 acres of savannah in Animal Kingdom’s Africa area. You and your child could see giraffes, elephants, flamingos, rhinos, antelope and maybe even a lion or two. This attraction is best experienced in the morning, when the animals are more active and easily seen.

Triceratop Spin: Little ones will enjoy making their dino go up and down on this circular ride in the DinoLand U.S.A. area of Animal Kingdom. This gentle ride is similar to Dumbo the Flying Elephant in the Magic Kingdom.

Wildlife Express Train: What child doesn’t love a train? This one runs every 5-7 minutes and takes you between the Harambe, Africa area and Rafiki’s Planet Watch. You can get off the train at Rafiki’s Planet Watch to take part in some educational activities and learn about animal conservation.

This post is part of “Under 5 Friday,” a series of posts with my best tips for taking young children to Walt Disney World.

Are you planning your first trip to Walt Disney World? One of the best ways to be sure you are getting the most out of your vacation (and your time and money) is to use a a travel agent who specializes in Disney vacations, like the folks at Enchanted Destinations.

Yes, it is the first week of the new year.

And yes, we are all just getting back to our routines after the holidays.

But it’s time to start planning your Disney travel for this year and beyond.

No, I’m not kidding.

The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the best selection of resort rooms or cruise cabins. And for the least amount of money.

“The people who get in on any promotion early are going to pay the lowest price,” says Celeste Koutavas, an agent with Disney-only travel agency Enchanted Destinations.

Celeste tells me it’s a simple case of supply and demand. The lower-cost options (the less expensive categories of Disney Cruise Line cabins or Walt Disney World and Disneyland resort rooms) often fill up the most quickly. In addition, as resorts or cruises fill up, the prices rise.

So what if you book early and then Disney releases a bigger, better deal for your vacation than the one your originally got? The agents at Enchanted Destinations say they monitor the new deals for their customers and re-book a vacation if there’s a better deal to be had.

So if all this talk of saving money isn’t enough to have you flipping the pages of the calendar just yet, here are my top three reasons why you should book your Disney vacations right away:

1. More Harmony in the Workplace: Scheduling vacations early leads to less fighting with co-workers over who gets the most popular weeks off.
2. Less School Burnout at Home: Your kids will have something to look forward to when the novelty of being back to school in the new year wears off by the end of this week.
3. More (or Less) Diet Angst, More or Less: You will be able to calculate exactly how many days you can slack on your New Year’s diet before you will need to go on your vacation diet.

The cruise line says the show will be a family-friendly comedy, so no concerns about nightmares in your cruise cabin.

I am so excited about this show! There have long been rumors about Disney doing more with the villains as a group, and I hope this is a sign of bigger things to come.

Disney has released this video preview:

“Villains Tonight” will also be performed on the brand-new Disney Dream when it sets sail in 2011. Did you know you can already book sailings on the Disney Dream? I recommend using the magic makers at Enchanted Destinations to book your Disney Cruise. They are experts at getting you the most for your money!

Yellowfin Tuna Three Ways from the California Grill at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Disney is offering dining plans for free this fall.

Walt Disney World Resort is offering free dining when you stay on-property this fall.

If you book a vacation that includes a room at a Value Resort and park tickets, you will get Disney’s Quick Service Dining Plan for everyone in your party free. Each person on the free Quick Service Dining Plan gets:

• Two quick-service meals per night of your stay
• Two snacks per night of your stay
• A refillable mug to get unlimited soft drinks, coffee, etc. at your resort

This brings the price of a five-night Walt Disney World vacation down as low as $470 per adult (double occupancy). I am still in shock when I take advantage of Disney’s free dining deals and our trip includes free food.

I really like being able to limit my spending and know exactly what my costs are going to be by using the dining plan. It makes my Disney vacation more relaxed when I don’t have to constantly worry about how much money we are spending.

If you choose to stay at a moderate or deluxe resort at Walt Disney World, each person in your party will receive the Disney Dining Plan for free. Each person on the free Disney Dining Plan gets:

• One quick-service meal per night of your stay
• One table-service meal per night of your stay
• One snack per night of your stay

These packages are available most nights between Sept. 29, 2009 and Dec. 17, 2009.

If you’ve never been to Walt Disney World in the fall, you should give it a try. The weather is gorgeous, the afternoon thunderstorms that hit in the summertime are usually gone and the temperature and humidity drops. Crowds are much lighter, and there’s the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival to check out Sept. 25 – Nov. 8.

The hotels will fill up during these times, so the best way to book is to use a travel agency. The folks at Enchanted Destinations know the ins-and-outs of booking this Disney free dining deal, so I suggest contacting them.

The main dining times on a Disney Cruise can be hard to get, especially if you’ve decided to be spontaneous and book a last-minute cruise vacation. And that can cause a problem if you’re traveling with children, because your seating can be as late as 8:30 p.m., and cruise dinners happen at a leisurely place.

Disney Cruise Lines has introduced a Dine and Play option that will help your kids eat earlier. Here’s how it works:

• Dine and Play is available for kids ages 3 to 12.
• During second dining, tell your server that your children want to participate in Dine and Play.
• The child’s meal is brought first, while your dinner is brought out at a leisurely pace.
• About 45 minutes after second dining begins, Youth Activities Counselors come into the dining room to sign your child in for Disney’s Oceaneer Club and Disney’s Oceaneer Lab, and they escort them to Deck 5 so that you don’t have to leave the dining room.
• You continue your dinner (without hungry, tired kids).

Sounds like a great plan to me. Experienced Disney Cruise Line cruiser and travel agent Celeste Koutavas of Enchanted Destinations says she loves the new option, because dining times aboard Disney Cruise Line ships can be a challenge for her clients.

“It is so hard to get main dining, especially if a guest is booking their cruise late. And by late, I mean 6 months out!” Celeste says.

Disney Cruise Line’s new Dine and Play option is available in any of the main dining rooms on both the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder.

After years of booking my own Disney travel online, I was curious about who was using a travel agent and why.

Our hourlong conversation boiled down to one word: Service.

It turns out that booking a Disney vacation through a Disney-only travel agency like Enchanted Destinations costs the same (or often less, but we’ll talk about that next) than booking it yourself online or over the phone. But you get the personalized service of a small agency that has time to cater to their customers, rather than dealing with a large call center.

Celeste and the other moms who work at Enchanted Destinations have all vacationed at Walt Disney World and Disneyland and cruised with Disney Cruise Line. They know the ins and outs of the Disney Dining Plan, making advance dining reservations and the details on all those extras you might not even know about.

And these ladies are true Disney-philes. They all visit the parks multiple times per year to see what’s new and stay up on all the latest happenings for their customers. (It’s a tough job, right?)

Now, let’s talk money. Enchanted Destinations can book all those discount packages you see advertised online or on TV. In fact, they are experts on getting you the best deal.

To me, the biggest benefit of using a Disney-only travel agency is that they will continue to check for new deals until you take your trip. For example, say you book an October trip in January at a savings of $500. In April, a deal that would save you $700 comes along. Enchanted Destinations will monitor this for you and rebook the deal under the new discount. If you book a Disney vacation yourself, you may miss out on this greater savings.

Celeste and the other “Magic Makers” at Enchanted Destinations have offered to share their deal-seeking expertise here at ThemeParkMom.com. We’re starting a new feature called “Ask A Magic Maker.” If you have questions about planning Disney travel, please send them to me (leigh at themeparkmom.com), and we’ll publish the answers here on the blog.