A Review: Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

Every spring Walt Disney World showers the Epcot park with flowers and gardens and wows all of us visitors. But did you know this festival is way more than just flowers and gardens? Read below for some great tips if you are visiting in the spring months. 

The year marks the first in 23 years that Epcot will offer the Flower and Garden Festival for a full 90 days! Usually the event is a shorter time frame of 75 days so this year we are in for a special treat. 

This year the front entry will feature none other than Donald Duck's nephews: Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They will be featured alongside Donald and Daisy and the Disney Gardeners will draw inspiration from a 1943 comic book entitled "The Victory Garden."

Of course what is a Flower and Garden Festival without Mickey, Anna, and Elsa? They will be there too, no worries. Mickey will be featured as Ranger Mickey celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Parks Service. Anna and Elsa will be moving to the Norway Pavilion this year as well. 

A very exciting addition this year is the 13 food offerings to choose from! Two outdoor kitchens that will feature kiosks where you can sample the food from. These kitchens will produce delicious foods such as: Jerk Spiced Grouper or Chicken with Mango Salsa, and Jamaican Braised Beef. The other outdoor kitchen will feature a field greens salad with lots of  fruits and vegetables. They will pair this with a blueberry hard cider brewed right in Florida. There will also be another 11 booths to choose your favorite flower and garden plates as well as new beverage options. I'm hungry just thinking about it!! 

And finally, the ever popular Garden Rocks Concerts will make a return and be offered even longer this year. Some of the standouts being the Village People, The Spinners, and The Guess Who. The concerts are every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 5:30, 6:45, and 8pm. 

A valid admission ticket is required to attend this event. It is one of the most fun events at Disney though so be sure to check it out if you are down in Mouseland during this time. 

As always I'm here to help plan your perfect vacation for you and your family when you are ready. Contact me today for your free quote. My services are always 100% free and I provide you with the Disney customer service you know and love!

Must Have FastPasses

Happy Monday readers and friends!! I hope most of us were able to weather the big snow storm this past weekend and all are warm and snug in our homes or work today. As most of you know, the Disney Traveling family will be heading down to Orlando in late March to have a wonderful time at MouseLand!! We are so excited and half of our excitement is just in planning the whole trip. Who's with me?!

So I decided to put a list together of Must Have FastPass+ that are enjoyable for everyone in your party. Some of us love the thrills and many of us travel with our families so our FastPass+ have to be all ages friendly. Read on below to find out some of my go to tips and tricks for getting the FastPass+ you want and what to do if you are traveling at Peak Times and cannot get the FastPass+ you want. 


1. Animal Kingdom Must Have FastPass+ - My favorites at this park are hands down: DINOSAUR, Kali River Rapids, and Expedition Everest. My runner up would have to be Kilimanjaro Safaris. 




2. Hollywood Studios Must Have FastPass+ - My favorites here are: Toy Story Midway Mania, Star Tours, and Tower of Terror. Runner ups in the list are a plenty: Aerosmith's Rockin Roller Coaster, The Great Movie Ride, Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The important thing to keep in mind with Hollywood Studios is they operate on a tiered ride system. Meaning that you get one pick from Group A which includes: Rockin Roller Coaster, Toy Story Midway Mania, The Great Movie Ride, Beauty and the Beast Live, and Fantasmic. You get two choices from Group B which include: Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Stunt Show, Muppet Vision 3D, Frozen: A Sing Along Celebration, Star Tours, Disney Junior Live, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. 
You really have to look at what works best for your family at this park as there are so many great rides to choose from and they are still expanding the park!! 




3. Epcot Must Have FastPass+ - Epcot is another park that is changing and with that so do my FastPass selections. I always make sure to get Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and Mission Space. This is another park that has recently updated their tiered system in groupings. Group A you can pick one ride from: IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, Soarin', Test Track, Living with the Land. And in Group B you pick two from: Disney/Pixar Short Film Festival, Journey Into Imagination With Figment, Mission: SPACE, Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush, Epcot Character Spot





4. Magic Kingdom Must Have FastPass+: Oh that amazing amount of rides and things to do at this park one could easily do 3 or 4 days in just this park alone! However, I know many of us will just be visiting for 1 or 2 days so look at my choices below. This is absolutely a park where it will be different for every family so make your selections based on your party. Mine always include: Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Space Mountain. So many runner ups here but just to name a few: Splash Mountain, Peter Pan's Flight, Jungle Cruise, Big Mountain Railroad, Enchanted Tales with Belle. 





So there you have it. Those are my top rides that the Disney Traveling family always tries to get when we go! What are your must have FastPass+? Comment below and let me know.

How do you get the best FastPass+ choices and windows? Well that's a simple answer. Any resort guests 60 days out from arrival can make FastPass+ selections beginning at 7am CST. It is so important to log on and make your selections as soon as possible. If you are traveling at Peak Times then expect the prime FastPass+ windows to be grabbed up quite quickly. 

Now let's talk about what to do if you can't get a FastPass+ for your favorite ride. My top answer is to keep trying. Especially if you are a resort guest and trying to make reservations 60 days out, some people change their FastPass+ windows or even cancel their vacation all together. Many things can change and happen in 60 days so keep trying. Leaving for vacation and still don't have the FastPass+ you wanted? That's ok! Make it to the park for rope drop or closing and high tail it to your favorite ride. The wait times will be lowest at park opening and closing and while there is a parade or fireworks show going on. Take advantage of this time and ride your favorite rides you didn't get FastPass+ for. 

Of course, always remember that once you have used all of your FastPass+ for that day you can make your way to a kiosk and make another FastPass+ selection. It's a great way to keep getting those FastPass+ and keep riding rides knowing you are not having to wait in line for your favorite rides. 

Ready to book your vacation? Please contact me below for your free quote or to book. My services are always 100% free to utilize and I provide you with excellent customer service and a concierge experience from booking to travel. 

The 6 Best Reasons to Visit Disney in 2016

Are you contemplating a trip to the land of mouse in 2016? With all the current renovations going on 2016 is looking to be a great year to go an visit Mickey and friends whether you go on a Disney Cruise, DisneyWorld, or Disneyland. Below you will find my listing of the 6 best reasons to visit Disney in 2016. I hope you enjoy this list, please feel free to comment below and add your best reasons to visit. 

1. Club Villain Dining Event at Hollywood Studios will open January 16th. This is a fun adult only dining event featuring New Orleans style cuisine and many different cocktails. The adults who are kids at heart will love this new event as you can mingle with all your favorite villains from Maleficent to the Evil Queen and dance the night away as a DJ spins your favorite jams. 
2. "Rivers of Light" at Animal Kingdom will be opening in the spring. This fun nighttime spectacular will feature floating lanterns, water screens, and entertainers for a show stopping performance you won't want to miss out on. 
3. Kilimanjaro Safaris will start running a night safari fit with nighttime animals and a gorgeous sunset. There is sure to be a line for this one so make sure to get a fastpass ahead of time!
4. Frozen Ever After will be opening in the old Maelstrom spot at Epcot in May! For all you Frozen fans out there this is sure to be a great ride and you will not want to miss out on this. I have a feeling lines will be long for this one as well so make sure to get your fastpass!
5. 2016 will also be the year that Disney Springs will finally be done with renovations. It feels like Downtown Disney has been undergoing to change to Disney Springs for quite a while now. I'm excited to see all of the new shops and restaurants added. 
6. Soarin will be adding a new track to minimize wait times in 2016. This ride will be closed the majority of spring 2016 as they add a new track to the ever popular ride. They are hoping with the addition of a new track wait times will decrease. 

I hope you enjoy my list of the best things happening at Disney in 2016. If you are gearing up for a trip to mouse land be sure to contact me at s.marx@magicalvacationplanner.com to price your vacation and plan it FOR FREE!! Be sure to leave a comment below on the things you love most about mouse land.