Walt Disney World 2017 Packages

So many taking advantage of the 2017 Disney packages released this week! I know, I know....2017?? Yes, here are some reasons you should think about booking now!! 
The advantages of booking your 2017 package now are numerous!


1. You risk nothing! Your $200 deposit is FULLY REFUNDABLE until 30 days before check in.


2. It is like a layaway plan for your Disney vacation. Other than the initial $200 deposit, no additional payment is due until 30 days before check in.


3. You can easily modify your reservation if your plans change. All it takes is a simple phone call to me, and I will take care of the rest!


4. MOST IMPORTANTLY….. You are creating a reservation that secures the resort and type of package that you want. You will also be securing the price in that the reservation guarantees that the price will not GO UP, even if Disney releases a price increase before your vacation commences!


5. Your reservation will be automatically checked for promotional discounts that apply when and if they are released.

6. And of course, it never costs YOU a dime to book through a travel agent (me). You can plan as much or as little as you like and have me at your service to answer any questions you may have! 

Soarin' Around the World To Re-Open

Big news is all around us this week at Disney! Today Disney released the newly themed video for Soarin' Around the World which re-opens this summer. 

As most of you know, Soarin' Around the World has been closed since this past winter as the Disney imagineers have been hard at work adding a new third track to the Epcot location in Walt Disney World. 

Soarin' Over California is the ever popular ride in Grizzly Peak at California Adventure in Disneyland. The new themed video for California Adventure will debut on June 17th! Be sure to check it out!

Both parks are getting a brand new themed experience this summer once it re-opens and it's sure to delight. 

Check out the video released today below to see the new sights you'll soon be Soarin' over. 

BREAKING: Rivers of Light Replacement Show

As reported previously here Traveling Through Disney stated that Disney had postponed the opening of Rivers of Light the new nighttime show at Animal Kingdom. When a press conference was held early this week highlighting all of the new summer offerings for Disney parks our speculations that Rivers of Light would not open in May were confirmed. 

Late last night, Disney released a new nighttime show and attractions coming to Animal Kingdom called Animal Kingdom Awakens at Night. The new show will be centered around The Jungle Book with a live musical performance. 

This also opens up the sunset safari on Kilimanjaro Safaris, nighttime street parties, and other special entertainers at night. 

We do expect that Rivers of Light will open eventually as they continue testing and rehearsing for the show. However, Disney being the perfectionist that it is decided to go with another more secure plan for the summer. Rivers of Light construction is on-going and it has been speculated that the system that controls the floats is having on-going issues that they cannot get under control. 

Animal Kingdom Awakens at Night will debut Memorial Day 2016. More information about this new offering is listed below. Stay here for more details as they become available. 

From Disney writer Jennifer Fickley-Baker

Starting this Memorial Day Weekend, guests will be able to enjoy Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a whole new way – after the sun goes down! Whether it’s riding Kilimanjaro Safaris at sunset, venturing down Kali River Rapids at twilight, dancing alongside African performers in Harambe, or reveling in a live musical celebration of Disney’s hit film “The Jungle Book,” park guests have a lot to look forward to.

Here’s a taste of what to expect:

“Jungle Book: Alive with Magic” Show – For the summer, Discovery River will become the stage for a limited-engagement show inspired by Disney’s hit live-action film “The Jungle Book.” “Jungle Book: Alive with Magic” is filled with music and special effects that celebrates the new film and the classic songs, now infused with an Indian influence.

Photo Credit Disney

The Tree of Life Awakens – Disney Parks Blog author Thomas Smith previously shared the first look at this amazing sight, in which the park’s iconic Tree of Life undergoes an extraordinary “awakening.” You can expect to see animal spirits come to life throughout the evening by magical fireflies. Each scene appears to emanate from within the tree itself and reveals stories of wonder.

Kilimanjaro Safaris After Dark – Guests can enjoy Kilimanjaro Safaris in the evening hours, thanks to special lighting that will allow guests to explore the savanna – and its inhabitants – well into the night.

• Harambe Wildlife Parti – Guests can turn into “party animals” at the Harambe Wildlife Parti and enjoy lively African music, exotic foods and drinks, and explore the local marketplace.
• Discovery Island Carnivale – On Discovery Island, guests can join the local community in their celebration of their love for nature in this party that features music, dancers, stilt walkers, food and more.
• Tiffins – Guests can enjoy the park’s newest eatery, Tiffins, for both lunch and dinner. Check out this previous post for a peek at what to expect from the menu.
• Nighttime Attractions – The park’s attractions, now operating in the nighttime hours, will take on a whole new life. For the first time, guests will be able to experience the thrill of attractions like Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids – surrounded by darkness. They’ll also be able to enjoy colorful midway games and attractions in DinoLand, U.S.A.

Reviewing 2016: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

Happy Monday morning Traveling Through Disney family! How was everyone's weekend? I hope it was as great as ours, the only thing that could have made it better was being at Disney! 

I wanted to veer off course from reviewing our past trip this week to bring you a few reviews of our favorite restaurants and special events we participated in on our trip. 

First up for today is Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Cinderella's Castle. There is also another one on Walt Disney World property at Disney Springs inside the Wide World of Disney store. 

For our trip though we visited Cinderella's Castle. 

I made the reservations about 120 days in advance to make sure we had a reservation. Note: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a reservation only salon. You have to call and setup an appointment prior to your arrival. To do that you can contact your travel agent or you can call Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique directly at: (407) 939-7895.

Upon making your reservations you will be asked to choose a package. The packages start at $59.95 per girl and are listed below.

The Crown Package (starting at $59.95 plus tax)

• Hairstyling
• Shimmering make-up, face gem
• Princess sash and tote
• Nail polish

The Courtyard Package (starting at $94.95 plus tax)

• Hairstyling
• Shimmering make-up, face gem
• Princess sash and tote
• Nail polish
• Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique T-shirt
• Trendy tutu

The Castle Package (starting at $194.95 plus tax)

• Hairstyling
• Shimmering make-up, face gem
• Princess sash and tote
• Nail polish
• Complete costume of your choice plus accessories (shoes not included)

Guests can also choose:

The Knight Package ($19.95 plus tax)

• Hairstyling with gel
• Mighty sword and shield
• Confetti

We chose the Crown package for our little one and set the reservation on the day and time that we knew we would be in Magic Kingdom. Done and Done! I bought my daughter a Belle costume prior to arriving at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and brought it with us to cut down on spending a fortune on a dress in the shop. They are pricey! 

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is located right inside Cinderella's Castle on the left side if you come from Main Street and the right side if you come from Fantasyland. It is directly across the hall from Sir Mickey's. Upon arrival you check in at the desk with a Fairy Godmother in training and are asked to take a seat in the waiting area. Side note: If you bring a dress to change into please let the Fairy Godmother in Training know so she can add a dressing room to be ready for you. 

We sat for maybe 10 minutes or so and then our Princess was called back to get changed. Note: An adult does need to be with the child to go in the dressing room to help her. Once we were changed into our gown we went back out in the waiting area. It took about 20 minutes from the time we checked in until we were called back again to get dolled up. 

There is a small sitting area for parents to sit while their child gets transformed into a Princess or Knight. All in all it takes about 45 to 60 minutes from top to bottom for the reservation so make sure you allot enough time. 

The Fairy Godmother's in Training are all so nice and energetic. They make your child feel welcome and at ease during the whole process. The Fairy Godmother's in Training all switch out after 1 or 2 clients so they are fully refreshed and cheery. 

There is a photopass photographer that goes around to all of the children taking pictures. They give you a card once your child is finished and you can take it across the street next to Castle Couture to get some really precious photos. 

We really enjoyed our Fairy Godmother and tips are always appreciated for a job well done although you do not have to tip. 

Our package was the crown package so my daughter got: a princess sash, a hairstyle with a crown, makeup, nails painted, and pixie dust for the road! 

Here are some of the amazing photos we got on our Memory Maker from the experience. 

      

We cannot say enough good things about our Fairy Godmother in Training and also the photopass photographer at Castle Couture. They were both so nice and truly made my daughter's experience magical. As my lovely daughter is entering the age where she is no longer a little girl this is probably the last time we will get to do this experience. 

We loved it though and the icing on the cake was getting to have dinner at Be Our Guest all dressed up like Belle. The beast was very pleased. :)

So if you are looking for an added extra to your vacation and want your daughter or son to have the full Prince/Princess vibe then definitely book a reservation for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. It is those memories after all that you will have forever. I can honestly say that my daughter will probably always remember her experience. 

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2016 Dates

Happy Friday Traveling Through Disney family! Today the dates for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party have been released. 

Tickets are not on sale just yet. 

This special event is separate from your entry ticket into Magic Kingdom. It features a special parade, meet and greets from rare and favorite characters, and also a great firework show!

This is one of the highly rated events of the holiday season! Crowds are very low at the beginning of November and December so take advantage of this special event and low crowds at the same time!

More information to follow once it is released. 

Day 4 of WDW Trip: Reviewing Magic Kingdom

Day 4 of our WDW trip brought us to the magical park of Magic Kingdom where all things Mickey and Princess prevail. Magic Kingdom was open from 8am to 2am on the Wednesday we were there so we knew we were going to hit the park and hit it hard. 

We planned on using up all 3 of our fastpasses pretty quickly and then going back and getting more. I will not bore you with my over planning but I had a very detailed itinerary for us to follow that day and I'm happy to say we got most of it checked off and even went off the list for a few extra rides. 

I will also tell you that the most we got done was between the hours of 11pm to 1am. After 11:45pm unless you were a resort guset you could not ride any of the rides. This dramatically reduced all of the wait times in the evening as everyone left. Plus it was really late at night so you didn't have toddlers running around either. 

We never saw a wait time exceed 30 minutes during this time frame. It was awesome!! So for those of you with older children I highly recommend taking advantage of the PM extra magic hours when they are available. 

We had Fastpasses on this day for:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Space Mountain

We loved Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! It's a step up from the Barnstormer for those of you with little ones but it is fun! It's fast and doesn't drop you but does give the little ones just enough adrenaline of a real roller coaster. My 9 year old loved it and wanted to do it again, we all did, but with a 2 hour wait we said goodbye to SDMT. 

We did get to meet Tiana, Tinkerbell, Gaston, and the Beast on this day and they were all fabulous. Our favorite was Gaston, he never broke character and was just the right amount of rude and charming. :) Tiana would have to be our second favorite she talked to us about gumbo and crawfish early in the morning and it made us hungry for some Louisiana food all day!!

And if you can't tell by the bottom two photos, my little princess took a trip to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Cinderella's Castle. I'll do a whole post dedicated to that next week. 

We also had dinner at Be Our Guest which was wonderful! The castle is very magical and makes you feel right like you are in the movie. I decided over the weekend that because of all the good meals we ate I have to do a series on the food. It was just so good and each restaurant deserves it's own post. 

After dinner we rode Pirates of the Caribbean which is one of my all time favorite attractions as well as Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (over and over again), and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. 

Isn't my husband just so funny with his faces on rides? Gotta love him!! 

So what was the highlight of our day this day you ask? It had to be riding all the mountains: Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Of course we also loved meeting Gaston, riding SDMT, and we did ride the Haunted Mansion more than a few times for me and my love of the Haunted Mansion. :)

We took full advantage of utilizing the Fastpass kiosk when we spent our 3 fastpasses and made subsequent selections. I think all in all we had 6 fastpasses for the day. It was a long day and to say we were tired on the bus back to the resort would be a complete understatement. However we had a blast and loved being able to spend so much time together as a family enjoying each other and having a great time making memories!!

Tomorrow starts the review of our double days. We spent 2 days in each of the parks except Epcot. Those days will be reviewed through Wednesday and then we will start a new series. 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing our trip in review. Comment below to let us know your favorite thing about Magic Kingdom. 

Day 3 of WDW Trip: Reviewing Hollywood Studios

Day 3 took us over to Hollywood Studios! Now we knew going in that a ton of the attractions and restaurants are currently shut down (Backlot Tour, Mike and Sully meet and greet, Streets of America, Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.). I was surprised to see how much of the park was hidden behind walls. It is a pretty significant amount of the park at this point just FYI. 

As we all know, Hollywood Studios is undergoing so major changes in that they are expanding the park to include a new Star Wars land and Toy Story land. Within that they are also adding a third track to Toy Story Midway Mania to cut down on wait times which pretty regularly exceed 2 hours. 

Fret not though, all of the projected completion dates for these new lands will be December 2018 with Toy Story land opening possibly sooner. Take a look at the projected look of the new lands. 

Alright so with that out of the way let's talk about our day at Hollywood Studios. We set off immediately for the Rock N Roller Coaster only to be met with a 60 minute wait at park opening. We should have stood in line because as they day went on it did not get better but we didn't. We set off to one of my favorite attractions The Great Movie Ride. I could do this one over and over again, I just love it. We did not make it to the Tower of Terror or Rock N Roller Coaster on our first Hollywood Studios day as they exceeded hour wait times all day long. I don't believe I ever saw either below 70 minutes. 

Some of our favorite attractions and shows of the day were: 

Toy Story Midway Mania (of course!!)

Star Tours

The Great Movie Ride

Frozen Sing A Long

Fantasmic

We also met the ever dark Kylo Ren and he scared my little Princess pretty good, even following her out the door when she said he was scary. :) We met the lovable Chewbacca too to make up for all the scary. 

Now I have to backtrack a bit and tell you about the amazing lunch we had. I swear, I'm going to do a whole week of posts just to the delicious food we ate on vacation. Maybe that will be next weeks adventure. 

We also watched the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Indiana Jones stunt show spectacular. As well as watched my little princess' favorite Princess Belle in The Beauty and Beast show. 

We took advantage of the Fantasmic dining package and had lunch at Mama Melrose's Italian Restaurante. 

So the way the Fantasmic Dining Package works is you eat at semi off peak hours. Our lunch reservations was for 11:30am. After you get finished with your meal you are given vouchers for the first seating of Fantasmic. This way you aren't stuck waiting in line for 90 minutes like the others who did not fastpass or use the dining package. 

I have to tell you I wouldn't have it any other way. We had a delicious meal and even had appetizers and desert included with the package. We received the vouchers and had amazing seats for the show that night. It was truly a great experience all the way around. 

The other experience we did on Hollywood Studios day was go to Club Villain. However, I am dedicating a full post to this one as well so I will not delve into details here other than to say it was totally worth it and awesome. Especially if you are a big lover of villains which the Traveling Through Disney family certainly is. 

We loved watching the Fantasmic show it was fully entertaining and a great water, light, and fire show. While we were waiting on the bus we watched the Star Wars Spectacular Firework Show. It was really cool and beautifully themed to Star Wars soundtracks of the past and present.

So there you have it. A glimpse at our full and wonderful day at Hollywood Studios. Now tell us below in the comments what is your favorite thing to do at Hollywood Studios? We can't wait to hear from you!!

Day 2 of WDW Trip: Reviewing Animal Kingdom

Day 2 of the Traveling Through Disney WDW trip took us over to Animal Kingdom to explore all that is nature and conservation. The park opened an hour early from 8-9am for extra magic hours. 

For those of you unfamiliar, you can find extra magic hours at one park each day and there are AM or PM magic hours. During these hours the park is only open to on resort guests. This gives them ample opportunity if they choose to take advantage of the park having less crowds and being able to ride the majority of the rides prior to the park opening up to everyone else. 

In the past, I have shied away from extra magic hours but on this trip I decided to test them out again and boy did it make a difference. Especially useful during last week when it was super packed and the crowds were overwhelming by noon each day. 

Now, let me preface this post by saying I'm a big lover of Animal Kingdom. It has become one of my families favorite parks over the years solely because it is the best park where we do not feel rushed and overly crowded. Animal Kingdom is a great place to have a slower paced day and also be able to still see and do everything in the park. 

They are also currently expanding Animal Kingdom to include a new land called "Pandora - The World of Avatar." Just like the movie, this new land will completely catapult you into the movie and feature Avatar based rides, restaurants, and more. I can't wait to see what they do with the new land. It's slated to open in 2017 right now so we will have to wait a while.

Pandora - The World of Avatar projection

Another change we noticed while at AK was they are hard at work on the new Rivers of Light nighttime show. We saw the lake being transformed into quite a large amphitheater right near the entrance to Expedition Everest. This new light and firework show will surely draw in the crowds to AK whereas this park normally closes at 6pm daily. Not any longer, AK is adding Rivers of Light on top of nighttime safaris over at Kilimanjaro Safaris. It is truly going to become a much busier and exciting park over the next year. Rivers of Light is expected to open in late Spring 2016. 

    

Now that we've discussed all that we saw going on in the parks let's talk about what the Traveling Through Disney team did on our day at the park. As I said, we took advantage of the EMH and headed straight for Expedition Everest. We ended up riding the backwards and forwards roller coaster twice before the wait time got to be a little too much for us. We enjoyed it immensely! 

  

After fun with ride photos we headed over to Dinoland USA and hit up another of our top rides called Dinosaur! We love this ride and did it twice as well before the lines got crazy. 

   

Can you tell we love the on ride photos yet? My little traveler is also a big fan of character meet and greets and AK does not disappoint. AK features some rare characters that you can only meet at AK so we took full advantage of these meet and greets. 

She met Flik, Pocahontas, Tarzan, and Baloo and King Louie on our first day at AK. We had an absolute blast!!

    

  

After dinner we had an amazing buffet meal inside the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Boma. They had such a great selection of food and don't even get me started on the deserts. It was so good I forgot to take photos haha! 

So that was our day 2! Comment below with your favorite things to do at Animal Kingdom, we'd love to hear from you!!

Walt Disney World Trip Day 1: EPCOT

If you've been reading the blog lately you know that the Traveling Through Disney family went on vacation last week to none other than WDW. We had a week filled with lots and lots of memories and had so much fun! We can't wait to do it again but it does feel nice to be back home and in the swing of the routine. 

This week I will highlight our trip and show you some of our favorite things we did while on vacation. 

Today we are starting out with Day 1 in the parks! We spent it at Epcot and it was a great start to our week. We could not have asked for better weather. It was supposed to storm in the afternoon but never did. 

To start out our day we had breakfast with the Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall located in Norway. We were on the Disney Dining Plan last week and took full advantage booking as many character meals as possible. The best thing about Akershus is you meet up to 5 Princesses for only 1 Table Service credit per person. 

Ariel and our Princess

My Little One with Aurora

Snow White and our Princess

We had a great meal complete with fruit, bagels, potato casserole, sausage, eggs, and bacon. We were super full!! Akershus does a great Princess Processional where all the kids get to walk around with the Princesses and wave to all the adults. It was a great time and my Princess enjoyed it immensely.

After breakfast we spent the majority of our day in Future World and hit up all the rides we could. I will not lie to you and say the park was empty. It was spring break after all and it was very crowded. However we got to do all of the rides we wanted and even met a cool character in between.

If you are a fan of Big Hero 6 you must make sure to hop on over to the Character Spot in Epcot to meet Baymax. He was so cute and cuddly. We enjoyed meeting him, he does not sign though so no autographs for him.


Our highlight ride of the day was Test Track, Soarin is closed until Summer 2016 unfortunately so we went to the next best thing. :)

We had a fastpass and thank goodness because the wait was 90 minutes!! Here's our fabulous shot below zooming around the track. We tried to make all of our photos as funny as possible. We had Memory Maker on this trip and took full advantage!


After all the riding we needed to rest our legs and found sanction in the World Showcase United Kingdom. There was an amazing band called the British Revolution playing so we sat back, had a few drinks, and listened to some great 80's music.

We had dinner reservations that night at Rose and Crown Pub which is known for their delicious Fish and Chips. Seriously, I spent 2 years dreaming about having them again and they did not disappoint! We also were seated on the patio and had front row viewing for the fireworks.



All in all it was a great first day! We had lots of laughs and enjoyed ourselves immensely. What's your favorite thing to do at Epcot? Comment below and let us know!!