Disney Travel Agents

Happy summer everybody!

I hope you are doing well. I have been enjoying time with my family, as I’ve been on maternity leave following the birth of my son in April. We’ve been having a lot of fun planning our next few Walt Disney World vacations and searching for which Disney Cruise we’d like to do when our infant son gets just a bit bigger.

(We are dreaming up where our next Disney Cruise Line vacation will take our family of four!)

(Our son keeps asking us 'When are we taking our next Disney Cruise?')

This month, I would like to cover my thoughts on why it is beneficial to use a travel agent when planning your Disney vacations. In the past I have used AAA to book Walt Disney World vacations, and a travel agent friend to book our most recent Disney Cruise Line vacation.

First, let me mention that the great thing about using a travel agent who specializes in Disney is that they typically are experts on the subject. Before an agent sells Disney vacations, they must take courses from the College of Disney Knowledge and pass a test on all things Disney. Most independent travel agents also work for a larger business, which provides additional resources to you and your agent if need be.

(Most Travel Agents specializing in Disney Destinations spend a lot of their time doing 'Disney research' to be able to best help their clients!)

The best news of all- your favorite Disney blogger has become a travel agent! If it is Walt Disney World you are looking to visit, then I am your gal. I have been to Walt Disney World many, many times- I have been to every Disney resort multiple times, I am familiar with every restaurant on property (there are well over 100!), I have been on nearly every attraction and seen nearly every show on property, and there aren’t many questions that stump me. I have also visited with just my husband as a young couple, and as a group of multiple families with children of varying ages. I’ve done Disney in so many different ways, and I can definitely recommend the best options for your family or group!

(Have a 4-year-old boy? You won't want to miss Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, one of my son's favorite rides at Walt Disney World!)

If it is Disney Cruise Line that you are looking for, I would love to help! I sailed on a 7-day cruise with a Star Wars Day at Sea last February with my family, and this trip was unbelievable. We enjoyed impeccable service, an exquisite atmosphere, fun activities galore, and of course- Disney Magic. There are so many memories that stand out from this trip, but one of my favorites is leaving for dinner one night, and our room host Filip tells us that he will have a surprise waiting for us when we return to our room that evening. When we returned later that night, we saw that Filip had placed Cars bedding on my son’s bed! Camden had brought his Lightning McQueen suitcase with him on the trip, which Filip had undoubtedly seen, and decided to make a little magic for our son, which he LOVED.

(Everyone we've ever met on the Disney Cruise Line has gone above and beyond to give us a truly magical experience!)

Many travel agents, such as myself, will get up at 5:45 in the morning to secure your dining reservations and Fast Passes, so that you do not have to worry about doing this (yes, EVEN the morning after the 4^th of July, which I am doing for a client next week!). I take a LOT of pride in my small business, and I truly want each and every client of mine to love Disney as much as I do. If a client asks for a specific document- such as a client who recently asked me for a list of the best Disney snacks to use her Disney Dining Plan snack credits on- I get right to work on making a detailed list to send out. 

(A BEAUTIFUL- and delicious- cupcake I enjoyed at the Grand Floridian!)

(One of my favorite Disney snacks- a Magic Cookie Bar!)

I do it all- I will spend hours on the phone, as I did earlier this week, calling Disney to apply new promotions which are released to try and save my clients money. I am available during your vacation via telephone or text if you think of any questions- even ones just as simple as ‘I’m eating dinner at Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge, what is the fastest way to get back to the Grand Floridian?’ No question is too big or too small. I also am happy to work with any budget- from $2,000 (or less!) to $20,000, I can help you create the perfect trip for your family.

(Say you are here, and are wanting to get back to your resort, the Grand Floridian. Just call or text me and I'll get you there!)

Finally, before you head out on your trip, I will send you your custom itinerary so that you do not miss a thing! Your itinerary will include your Fast Pass reservation times, advance dining reservations (ADR’s) and confirmation numbers, extra experience times and dates, theme park hours, and more!

(What time is that FastPass for Under the Sea again? Have no fear, your itinerary is near!)

One final thing that I’d like to mention is that even if you have already booked your Disney vacation, it may be possible to still use a travel agent. It is possible for your reservation to be taken over by a travel agent if you have booked within 30 days, and if your trip has not yet been paid-in-full. Some travel agents will also assist you with your planning and itinerary-building, even if your trip has already been booked and paid, simply by charging a small planning-only fee for their work.

(I can even tell you about my favorite places to relax, have a drink... put together new Lego sets, and more!)

I hope that this post has been informative and interesting! Please feel free to contact me at any time via email at dana_w@wishingonastartravel.com. Happy Travels!

Disney Fine Art Photography

Hello!

Here in Indiana, it went from winter straight to summer- we really didn’t get much of a spring this year, unfortunately! Spring is my favorite season, and so I did miss the mild weather- but since we had such a long winter this year, the summer weather is making me VERY happy! I hope you all are enjoying being outdoors as much as my family is!

And speaking of outdoors- last November, my husband, son and I tried out the Disney Fine Art Photography service for the first time, where we took family photographs both indoors and outdoors at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. I was extremely happy with how they turned out- my main goal was to have a few nice photos to put on our Christmas cards, which we did, and more! Let me lead you through the process of using this service.

(We got several slightly different family photos in this beautiful location at the Grand Floridian)

I first heard about this service while perusing some Disney pages on Facebook. A user had posted the family photographs that they had received after using the service, which they highly recommended. I went onto the Disney Fine Art Photography website (www.disneyfineartphotography.com) to check it out for myself, and was delighted to find that they had some affordable options. The package that we ended up purchasing was the Mini Portrait Session, which is a 20-minute session with a Professional Photographer. We were given a choice of several resorts (I believe that at this time, you may now select any of the resorts for your session), and we chose the Grand Floridian, as this is our favorite resort to visit. This package costs $180 plus tax, and immediately after the session, the images are reviewed with you, and you are given a flash drive with all of the images and a Copyright release. There is a 1-hour photo session as well, but for those of us with younger children, I would recommend the 20-minute session. Even though the 1-hour session includes both a photographer and an assistant, and enhancements to the images, I didn’t expect that my 3-year old would last much longer than 20 minutes, and I was correct. You can see from the image below that he was done taking photos, and he was ready to move on to something more fun!

(This is our son's 'I'M DONE' pose!)

I was given a choice of times to select for our session, and I selected the latest appointment of the day, which on this day, was 4:00pm. I was hoping to avoid the hottest part of the day, as my husband and son do not do well in the heat, and I knew I wanted some outdoor photos taken if it didn’t rain. Unfortunately, as you can see from the photo above, the sun was still BRIGHT at 4:30pm, and so these photos didn’t turn out as I had hoped. In the future, I think I would select a morning session- perhaps this way we’d be able to avoid the glaring sun.

(That Florida sun is BRIGHT!)

We showed up to the Grand Floridian via Minnie Van (read my post all about the new Minnie Van service HERE), and promptly at 4:00pm, our photographer met us at our meeting point, the grand staircase in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. We first had a discussion of what we were looking to get out of the session, which did not count towards our 20-minutes. I wasn’t sure how many locations it was possible to visit in our 20-minutes, but I explained to her that there was a location upstairs that I loved, as well as a few places outdoors that I wanted to try to visit. We also wanted to get a few photos of our gender reveal for social media- I was 16 weeks pregnant on this trip, and our ultrasound would be in just a few short weeks, so we had purchased Mickey and Minnie rattles, and wanted the appropriate image to send to friends and family after our ultrasound. 

(The 'It's A Girl' photo that we did not end up using)

(The 'It's A Boy' photo that we sent to family and friends and posted on social media after my ultrasound)

Per our photographer’s recommendation, we took photos on the grand staircase here at the Grand Floridian. I don’t love that we are higher than the photographer, and I think this made for an unflattering angle- I actually debated sending these photos back to Disney to be retouched- which you may do for a fee (specifically, I wanted them to edit out my double chin)- but ultimately, I decided that I was happy with so many other images, so I left these alone (I also am not liking my awkward poses, and of course, those cannot be edited out!).

(The first photo we took during our session)

(On the Grand Staircase at the Grand Floridian)

The next location was one I chose after seeing photographs in this spot on Pinterest, and I love how the photos turned out! Our photographer was having trouble with the lighting, and so this photo of me is actually a fluke- I was simply waiting for her to find the right settings on her camera, and this is the result of that!

(Waiting for our photographer to find the right settings on her camera)

I love how the family photos in this spot turned out!

(One of my favorites!)

(Another photo that I love)

We quickly headed outside to the next spot that I had hand-picked, and again, I adore these photos!

(A beautiful Florida day)

(My sweet family)

(Love this one!)

This is also where our photographer had chosen to do our gender reveal photos, as seen above- I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do with the rattles, and so this was her idea- I absolutely loved how these turned out! She also suggested taking a few maternity photos with my son here, and I think they turned out so well! Our photographer truly had some creative ideas!

(A sweet maternity photo with my son)

(Showing off my son's silly side!)

After we finished in this spot, I asked our photographer if we could go over to one more spot- we only had a few minutes left in our session, but she agreed, and we quickly headed over there. I loved that you could see the castle at Magic Kingdom from this spot, and I was hoping that a monorail would go by while she was photographing us. Unfortunately, the monorail went by as we were finishing. In the second-to-last photo, you can see Camden pointing, and he was pointing at the monorail making its way to the Magic Kingdom. I would actually do another photo session at the Grand Floridian specifically for this photo, but I would be sure to do it in the morning, when the sun would not be in our eyes, as these photos did not turn out well due to the glare in our eyes.

(Camden sees the monorail approaching!)

After our session, we went into the lobby of the Grand Floridian with our photographer, where we sat down and she spent a few minutes uploading the images. She then showed us the photos on her laptop, and we ‘oohed and ahhed’ over the images. She gave us a flash drive with all of our images and a Copyright release, and we parted ways. The entire experience lasted about an hour.

Overall, there were eleven photos that I absolutely LOVE, and several more that I really like (out of 31 total). Since my goal was simply to get a few photos that I really liked for my 2017 Christmas cards, I’d say the photo session was a major win! My husband and I would highly recommend this service for those looking for some beautiful family photos taken on Walt Disney World property. Be sure to check out the Disney Fine Art Photography website for more information, or feel free to email me with questions. Happy Travels!

Five of our Favorite Ways to Spend a Non-Park Day at Walt Disney World

Good morning!

Here in our house, we are celebrating our new son, who was born just 3 weeks ago! Due to the fatigue that all new mommas are familiar with, my creative juices aren’t flowing as well as usual- however, while looking through photos of our last vacation, I realized that this topic wouldn’t take much thinking on my part, due to our vacation style. All who know my family are aware that we spend quite a few of our vacation days outside of the parks, enjoying all of the amenities of Walt Disney World that others may overlook in favor of the parks. While we do love the theme parks, our everyday lives are so busy that we often prefer just to enjoy each other’s company doing something a bit more relaxing than running from attraction to attraction. Below, I describe five of our favorite ways to spend our days at Walt Disney World outside of the theme parks.

(Playing with bubbles at the pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge- Jambo House)

1- Renting a surrey bike- My son had been asking for MONTHS if we could rent the ‘big bike’ while on vacation, so on our February trip, we did just that! Several resorts offer surrey bikes for rental, but we chose to rent at the Boardwalk because we thought it would be fun to bike over to the other Crescent Lake resorts (Yacht and Beach Club and the Swan and Dolphin), and I loved the idea of being able to bike near the International Gateway at Epcot. We paid $25 for 30 minutes, and this was enough time to make the loop around Crescent Lake twice. My son LOVED helping us steer, and ringing the bell to let others know we were coming up behind them. After our fun trip around Crescent Lake, we walked over to Big River Grille & Brewing Works for lunch, where we were seated immediately, even without an advanced dining reservation (ADR). The Boardwalk is such a fun area to walk around, especially at night when the street performers come out to entertain (for free!) and the area is hopping!

(Riding our Surrey bike around The Boardwalk)

(Enjoying an outdoor lunch at The Boardwalk)

2- Bowling at Splitsville Luxury Lanes- Disney Springs, which has been under refurbishment for some time now, is an excellent place to spend a few hours or even a whole day outside of the theme parks! There is fantastic shopping, great indoor and outdoor entertainment, exquisite food, and more! We love the food at Splitsville- the sushi, as well as the huge pizzas, are both standout items! You can either bowl and eat at the same time, or separate from one another (we’ve done it both ways). This would be a great way to spend a rainy day at Walt Disney World!

(Enjoying the delicious sushi at Splitsville)

(The huge pizzas at Splitsville- sadly I couldn't finish mine!)

(Having fun bowling at Splitsville!)

3- Checking out other Disney Resorts- Ok this is probably our number one favorite thing to do on a non-park day. We often eat our meals outside of the parks because we enjoy the theming at the resorts so much. The resort we probably frequent the most is the Grand Floridian- we absolutely love the restaurants here, from Gasparilla Island Grill, the quick service spot, to the Signature Restaurants Narcoossee’s and Citrico’s, to 1900 Park Fare, which is our favorite character breakfast spot, and the Grand Floridian Café, a casual eatery that we tend to visit for dinner every trip. We love watching the fireworks from the dock outside near Narcoossee's, and it's so enjoyable to grab a drink at Mizner’s Lounge and listen to the live orchestra nearby. Even sitting in the lobby listening to the piano player is relaxing! We can find something enjoyable to do or see when visiting just about any Walt Disney World Resort!

(Watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the Grand Floridian)

(Relaxing at Mizner's Lounge at the Grand Floridian)

(Even the lobby of the Grand Floridian is fun!)

4- Pamper yourself at a Walt Disney World Spa- Senses Spa at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa can provide a wonderful morning, afternoon, or even a whole day of relaxation. My husband has done both a Swedish massage and the Gentleman’s Retreat package at Saratoga’s spa, both of which he really enjoyed. Per my husband (I have never used the Spas), here are a few tips:

-Go before your appointment time to enjoy the amenities at the Spa.

-Feel free to stay after your spa appointment, all day if you wish, to enjoy the amenities at the Spa. 

-You can also leave and come back later the same day as your appointment if you wish.

-If you are DVC, you receive a complimentary drink with your Spa appointment.

-Ask for the Spa menu if you wish to order drinks and/ or refreshments (extra fees apply).

-It is less expensive per service to book a package- and he highly recommends the packages for the ultimate in relaxation!

(Senses Spa- Image from www.chipandco.com)

5- Spend the afternoon- or a whole day- at your Walt Disney World Resort pool- Being from the Midwest, where we only get the chance to swim a handful of months throughout the year, we LOVE visiting the pool or pools at our resort! Our favorite two pools currently are the Paddock Pool at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, and the Samawati Springs Pool and Uwanja Camp water play area at Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani Village (note that when you stay at either Animal Kingdom Lodge- Jambo House or Kidani Village, you are allowed to use either resort’s pool!). My 4-year old son is a water slide aficionado, and these two pools boast AMAZING water slides. All moderate and deluxe Disney resorts feature fun, themed water slides for resort guests to enjoy. We also enjoy the outdoor quick-service spots at both of these pools, which make grabbing a refreshing drink or a quick al fresco lunch easy and fun!

(Water slide at the Paddock Pool at Saratoga Springs)

(My son enjoying the water slide at the Paddock Pool at Saratoga)

(One of my favorite photos- enjoying the pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge- Jambo House)

(Playing at Uwanja Camp at Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani Village)

There are truly countless ways to enjoy your Walt Disney World vacation, and each family will have their own favorite ways to spend their day. No matter what you choose to do on any given day at the World, I know that you will have a great time! Thank you for reading, and Happy Travels!