The promotions just keep rolling in this week from Disney. Today Disney released Early Booking Rate savings on select Adventures by Disney itineraries.
You can book early and save up to $500 per person on select Adventures by Disney 2017 departures! Book now through June 18, 2016 for departures Jan. 1 – Dec. 10, 2017 (excluding July 1-31, 2017):
So what is Adventures by Disney you ask? It is a tour guided customized trip featuring the excellent customer service you know and love from the Disney brand. Itineraries take you all over the US, as well as Europe, Asia, Africa, and more. It is the only way to travel internationally.
As someone who personally loves to travel I want to see all that this world has to offer, however, it's intimidating book a trip internationally, especially when you have never been there.
Adventures by Disney takes that intimidation away and throws it right out the window, replacing it with faith, trust, and pixie dust. You never have to worry about accommodations, food, or seeing the sights on these guided tours. You are also treated like a VIP from booking to return.
It is my preferred method of international travel for sure and now that ABD is offering such steep discounts its a great way to book a VIP trip and save money too!!
Comment below and tell me where your dream destination is?
You can save up to $500 per person on select Adventures by Disney® 2017 departures when they book April 20-June 18, 2016 for departures Jan. 1-Dec. 10, 2017 (excluding July 1-31, 2017).
For more details on this amazing offer email us today at s.marx@magicalvacationplanner.com
Note: Booking is subject to conditions and restrictions. Early Booking Rate cannot be combined with any other offers, discounts or promotions. Not valid for group bookings. Offer is subject to change without notice. Bookings subject to Adventures by Disney’s standard Terms & Conditions.
This morning we were met with brand new itineraries from the Disney Cruise Line! In 2017 Disney Cruise Line will set sail along 2 new routes including Alaska and Europe. These two cruises will be the first time visits to this locations.
Alaska Destination: Icy Strait and Hubbard Glacier
For the first time, Disney Cruise Line will take guests to Alaska's Icy Strait Point and Hubbard Glacier. These dramatic locations are part of a new nine-night itinerary on the Disney Wonder. Departing fromVancouver, British Columbia, on July 24, 2017, this itinerary also sails to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Tracy Arm Fjord.
Icy Strait Point offers a variety of Alaska nature adventures, including a zip line attraction that is one of the longest and highest zip lines in the world. Nearby, Glacier Bay National Park is a spectacular highlight of Alaska's Inside Passage and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another highlight of this cruise is seeing Hubbard Glacier, the largest and most active tidewater glacier in North America. Displaying extraordinary blue hues and immense beauty, this spectacular glacier is more than six miles wide where it meets the ocean.
A new seven-night Alaska sailing from Vancouver, departing July 17, 2017, includes a call on Icy Strait Point, in addition to Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. On Aug. 2, 2017, the Disney Wonder will sail its first five-night Alaska cruise from Vancouver to Tracy Arm and Ketchikan.
New Europe Destinations: Amsterdam and Stonehenge
For the first time, Disney Cruise Line will visit Amsterdam, Netherlands, known for its elaborate canal system, tulip fields, windmills and world-class museums housing works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh.
On May 13, 2017, the Disney Magic embarks on a 15-night transatlantic crossing from Port Canaveral,Florida, to Copenhagen, with a stop in Amsterdam along the way. This itinerary also includes a call onPortland, England – another first-time port for Disney Cruise Line. Portland is a short distance from Stonehenge, the prehistoric ring of standing stones monument that is one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World.
A visit to Amsterdam also will be part of a 10-night northern Europe itinerary that departs June 18, 2017, from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Dover, England. Other ports on this sailing include Warnemunde (Berlin),Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Tallinn, Estonia.
The grand tour of Europe continues throughout the summer with limited engagements in the Baltic, Norwegian fjords, Iceland, British Isles and the Mediterranean.
Also new are the 10 and 11 night itineraries from Port Canaveral to Southern Caribbean.
On June 17, 2017, a new 11-night itinerary will visit Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, St. Kitts, Tortola and Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.
On June 28, 2017, a new 10-night itinerary will call on Aruba, Curacao, St. Kitts, Tortola and Castaway Cay.
As always your favorite Bahamas cruises for 4 and 5 nights will still be available as well.
Contact your travel agent today or contact me for a free no obligation quote! These cruises will be open for booking beginning April 14th, this FRIDAY!!
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 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 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 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!!
5 Days/4 Nights at Port Orleans Riverside Moderate Resort with Garden View
5 Day Theme Park Tickets
Free Transportation to and from resort to parks and Disney Springs
Movies on the Lawn + Nightly Campfire and more
3 Fastpass+ per person, per day
3 Awaken Summer Magic Bands + Magical Extras
Total Package: $2,221.18
**receive a special “Awaken Summer” MagicBand per person included in the same package. This one-of-a-kind band will activate a special sound and lighting feature at select touch points throughout the Walt Disney World Resort for valid travel dates during this special offer.
Ready to book? Let's Chat today!! My services are 100% free to utilize.
Breaking news out of Disney this morning....new Disney Dining Plan prices have been made available and the price increase will be put into effect as early as today March 9, 2016. The good news is there is no change in service inclusions. It looks as though all of the services have stayed in tact. This means if you are on the dining plan you will still currently get the same credit allotments and any extras you may have received on the deluxe plans (i.e. appetizers, deserts, etc.). The bad news is the dining plan increase bumps up the total cost to about 3% across the board. If you recall the 2016 Disney Dining plan was:
However, the new Disney Dining Plan is bumping up prices by over $2 each night. Check out the new rates below:
What do you think about this new increase in prices? The change comes after Disney released new ticket prices just 2 weeks ago. Will this change your mind when purchasing a Disney dining plan now or no?
Breaking news from the Disney executives and confirmed by cast members at Disney's Reservation Center.
As we all have heard it has been rumored that Walt Disney world tickets will increase effective tomorrow. The price increase comes after Universal increased their prices just last week upping the price $5 more per day.
Now what you may have not heard is when the ticket increase announcement finally makes its debut it will be a shock to most of us. Disney is revealing a new tiered system in order to maintain crowd control and also get people on vacation at slower times.
Here is the information we have obtained so far:
Three tiers will be offered for ticket prices with the first ticket price the lowest of the increases.
Value
Regular
Peak
We do not yet know how much the tickets will jump but many are expecting a one day Magic Kingdom ticket to cost upwards of $125 per day whereas it is now $105.
Stay tuned here for any news we receive. Also, if any of you are planning a trip down to WDW during 2016 or early 2017; I encourage you to put a deposit down on your reservation now to lock in those current cheaper rates. Tomorrow you may find a higher cost for your magical vacation.
Email me now if you need to book a trip or have been on the fence. I'm happy to help and get those rates locked in.
Ready to make a magical vacation? Contact me now and let's chat!! Email, phone, text, FB message, smoke signal. I love to talk vacations, Disney not your style? I can help you book virtually any vacation you desire.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few months then everyone knows how much Walt Disney World is changing over Spring and Summer 2016.
Whether it be the new lands added to Hollywood Studios such as Star Wars land and Toy Story land, or the ever anticipated Avatar land at Animal Kingdom. There are lots of refurbishments going on at Walt Disney World during some of the busiest times of the year right now. If you've visited over the last few months you will notice some of your favorites rides are now gone at Hollywood Studios and even some meet and greets and restaurants. The ever popular walls have also gone up to hide all the magic that is taking place.
If we know one thing about Disney it is that it is an ever changing animal and when Disney takes away it almost always gives back in three fold. These new lands will be bigger and better than ever making you forget all about those walls and experiences that will now cease to exist.
And with so many traveling down to Walt Disney World whether it be for the summer or Spring Break here at Disney Traveling, we want you to be in the know.
Below you will find the most updated listing released from Walt Disney World on the current refurbishments going on thru 2016. Look at the list below to make sure you have the best information for your trip and adjust your plans accordingly.
Be sure to check back here @disneytraveling for all of the latest updates regarding refurbishments and closings.
Magic Kingdom Park
Mad Tea Party Feb. 22 - 26, 2016 Jungle Cruise Mar. 1 - 3, 2016
Monorail Now - April 2016 The Walt Disney World® Resort Monorail System is undergoing refurbishment and may be on modified service and/or routes. If Guests plan to use this form of transportation during their visit they should check to be sure of the best option available on their day of travel, as alternative transportation options will be available.
Epcot
Soarin' Jan. 4, 2016 - Summer 2016 Circle of Life Feb. 7 - Apr. 2, 2016
Disney's Hollywood Studios Theme Park
Pizza Planet Jan. 19 - Late 2016 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure - Closing Permanently Apr. 3, 2016 Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show - Closing Permanently Apr. 3, 2016
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park
Kali River Rapids Jan. 4 - Mar. 17, 2016 Flights of Wonder Jan. 25 - Mar. 17, 2016
Warung Outpost Jan. 25 - Mar. 17, 2016 Boneyard Feb. 22 - Mar. 17, 2016
Disney Springs
Planet Hollywood
January 6- Summer 2016
Roadwork on Buena Vista Drive - Due to heavy roadwork, expect delays on Buena Vista Drive. It is recommended that Guests use complimentary Walt Disney World Resort transportation from Parks and Resorts to Disney Springs and plan to arrive early for reserved dining and entertainment experiences.
This just in from Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. For those of you traveling to Hollywood Studios on March 15th the ever popular Toy Story Midway Mania will be closed all day.
Those who have selected FastPasses for this day will now be allowed to choose another Fastpass for that day.
The news comes after the announcement of a third track being added to Toy Stoty Midway Mania in order to curb the sometimes massive wait times. The third track will be added later this year.
Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.
Villain lovers rejoice!! Back by very popular demand is the special ticketed event Club Villain inside Disney's Hollywood Studios. Situated inside the Sunset Showcase you will find a great party known as Club Villain. This special ticketed event features 4 villains, 5 if you count your evil host Dr. Facillier. The villains include: Evil Queen, Cruelle DeVil, Maleficient, and the Red Queen. As you enter the event you are handed a glass of champagne or a bottled water and a card with your table number and meet and greet times for the villains. You are welcome to find your table and have a seat or mingle around. Once you have located your table make your way to the all you can eat buffet featuring delicious "voodoo sticky pig wings", herb-rubbed beef tenderloin, cajun chicken gumbo, and more! You will also find a bar filled with villain inspired drinks and also beer and wine if you choose.
The deserts are on a whole other level and are also themed to match their villain of choice. Take delight in red velvet cupcakes, cheesecake pushups, macaroons, and green apple mousse. All of the deserts are truly sinful in their own rights. Now let's talk about the added shows. Club Villain used to only be offered on Saturday nights but because this intimate event has been such a hit they are now offering the show on Tuesdays and Saturday's throughout the month of March. For our family's March trip we were able to snag reservations for the Tuesday night 4:15pm show. There is also a 7:15pm show as well. Be advised, this party does offer alcoholic beverages and features burlesque dancers so it is not for your younger children. Also, there is not a child's rate so children pay the same as adults. This ticketed event will set you back $129 per person. The event lasts roughly 2 hours and as mentioned above you get personal meet and greets with the villains with little to no wait, a full all you can eat buffet featuring gourmet food, and all you can drink alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, plus desert. Need I say more! You will need a park ticket to get into this special ticketed event. If you are ready for this event and more magical fun, let's chat! I'm an authorized earmarked Disney Vacation Planner and my services are 100% free.
Hi all! I'm an avid Disney guru, Authorized and Earmarked Vacation Planner, and traveler. Want to advertise on my site or ready to book a vacation? Contact me now at s.marx@magicalvacationplanner.com
