Friday, December 14, 2012

Trip Report Part 2




After very little sleep, we woke up early to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom for our 8:00 AM pre-rope drop breakfast at Tusker House. We arrived in plenty of time and got a chance to hang out at the entrance for a bit.  I got a few shots of the AK Christmas tree which was just beautiful.


I have to admit that while I am not a morning person, being one of the first people to be let in AK was amazing. We had to hurry through, but we still got to enjoy it briefly with no crowd, which was lovely.

Tree of Life
Almost empty park











We made it to Tusker House and had our picture taken with Donald Duck. Donald was great....as usual. He kissed my hand, kissing sound included. He hugged the girl. He was just great. I really enjoyed it, but would have loved it if he actually circulated through the restaurant like the others. Guess you can't have everything.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Trip Report Part 1



Hey, y'all!  It's been a week since we returned home from Walt Disney World and I thought that it was time to start my trip report. So here goes......

We arrived around 3:30 PM on Friday, November 23rd, to the Port Orleans Riverside. We did online check in, which I highly recommend since I only had to wait about two minutes for someone to assist me, while the regular check in line was very long. I had faxed in our room recommendations a few days before arrival, something else I recommend, and we were happy to learn that they met every request. Considering the fact that we checked in during a very busy time, that was a shock.

We made it to our room, which was a Royal Room. I have a son and daughter, who are 9 1/2 years apart, I am very happy to report that they both loved the room. It wasn't overly girly so the boy liked it and it had enough princess touches to please the girl.  The beds were really comfortable and the room was spacious. I loved the bathroom which not only had a curved shower rod, but also a little seat so there was a ton of room. The room was quiet and we never heard anyone else around us or above us. That was a wonderful surprise. Here are a few pictures of the room:

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Don't panic, y'all!

My family and I will be at WDW in one month. We are all very excited and ready to hit the parks running. The one and only issue is that I'm going into PTP. What is PTP? It's pre-trip panic, y'all.

I do this with every single trip we take. It can be a weekend to visit family or two weeks at WDW, but I always going into pre-trip panic. It's something that my mom does and probably something my grandmother did as well. It's a family trait, and probably one of my least favorite traits. I know that my family could do without it.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Don't wait!

Don't wait, don't wait, don't wait! I don't know if I can stress this enough. DON'T WAIT! One of the worst things that you can do when planning your Disney trip is wait too long to finalize your details.  Even a professional like myself has found themselves in trouble because they waited too long to take care of a specific detail.  I'm sure you think that I'm exaggerating, but I swear, y'all, I'm not.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

When?

Probably one of the most frequent questions I hear is "When is the best time to go to Disney?"  Well, it depends on your needs. Do you want smaller crowds? Do you want to attend a special event? Do you want to make sure your kids don't miss any school? Do want to avoid the heat if possible?  All of the above?  There are a lot of factors that you need to consider when deciding when is the best time.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Time to Pack

I'm a frequent viewer and commenter on Lines, which is the app for Touring Guides. http://touringplans.com/ One of my fellow chatters in a firm believer in soft packing, packing lists, and early packing.  If you want to hear about her having a panic attack, tell her that you waited to pack for your week long Disney vacation until the night before, or worse, the morning of.......that doesn't settle well with her.

I admit that I am a list person. I love lists. I use them for shopping, chores, to dos, honey dos, and packing.  If I didn't have a list, I'd never get everything done, purchases, assigned or packed.  I feel that a list is essential when it is vital you don't forget anything.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Expectations

Have you ever had certain expectations that have not been met?  For example, I took my DD who is 2 to see Finding Nemo 3D. We own the movie and she loves it. I just knew that she was going to find seeing it in the movie theater, in 3D no less, amazing. I had high expectations......they were not met.

If you've ever taken a toddler to see a movie, you know what I'm going to say. She would not sit still. She wanted to be held half the movie, which made eating popcorn difficult. (Isn't the popcorn half the reason you go to a movie? It is for me). She would talk to me or her daddy in her normal, and loud, speaking voice. She wouldn't keep her 3D glasses on. She wanted to walk around the theater. It was a mess.She made it difficult for the entire family to enjoy the movie.

Basically, my expectations were not met. I was expecting her to hand me my "Mother of the Year" trophy and instead, she acted like a 2 year old.  This got me thinking about our upcoming trip to Disney.  What if my expectations aren't met? What if the trip if a disaster?  Can I handle a less than perfect Disney vacation?

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Resort Hopping

Hi y'all! My name is Wyndie and I'm a resort hopper. Yes, I am one of those indecisive people who constantly changes her mind about which resort to stay. I have changed our current trip resort so many times that my family doesn't even want to hear about the "new" resort, because they know that I'll just change my mind again.

What's ironic about my "addiction" is that when it comes to my clients, I have no problem helping them choose their resort. I can tell you why you should pick a certain resort, what amenities I think you'll enjoy, and why it is the perfect choice for your Disney adventure. When it comes to my trips......I can NEVER decide.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Planning your trip

I thought I should write about planning your trip to Disney......be it Disneyland, Aluani, Walt Disney World, etc.  There is a good deal of planning involved for any Disney trip.

Obviously, I would be a terrible Disney Travel Planner if I didn't suggest using someone like myself. As a DTP, we are authorized by Disney to book trips for others through their site. We not only can book your trip for you,but we can also book your dining and help you plan all aspects of your trip. The best part.....we did it for free! Yep, no cost to you. Now isn't that a deal?!  Here is my final, shameless plug. Feel free to email me at anytime at wyndie@MagicalAdventuresTravel.com or give me a call at 866.611.5413 ext. 303, I'd love to help you plan a magical adventure.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Am I Crazy?

I'm serious.....am I crazy? We have decided to drive to Walt Disney World this year. Yes, you read that correctly....drive to Walt Disney World.....from Texas.  Yikes!

Maybe I am crazy, but this just seems like the best idea to me.  First of all, airfare is expensive!  For my family of four to fly from Austin to Orlando, it is around $2000. It's even more if we flew from our home town.  With food, hotel stop and gas, our total drive down and back will cost us about $1000. That's half price! Of course, I'm going to want to save $1000.

I realize that it will take us longer. We are leaving from Austin, because we are leaving our dog, Lucy with my mom and step-father. I've consulted a half dozen websites which all give me a different time frame ranging from 16 - 20 hours. I'm going to assume around 18 hours. I know that flying is not nearly that long, but let's do the math.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Where to begin.....again

Here I am sitting at my keyboard trying to decide where to begin....again. I say 'again' because I have started and retooled this blog numerous times. I never fancied myself a blogger, but I thought I'd give it a try.

Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Wyndie. I live in Texas with my darling husband (DH), my darling son (DS) and my darling daugheter (DD). We also have a dog and a cat who we treat like children.

I'm a Disney Travel Planner with Magical Adventures Travel and a stay at home mom. It's the best of both worlds. I get to do what I love, which is help people plan a magical Disney vacation, while staying at home with my children.

My plans for this blog are to talk about Disney vacations, tips, budget ideas, touring ideas, dining, etc.  I may also talk about my family, because they are a huge part of me.  Primarily, this will be a Disney blog so no worries that you'll have to hear about my potty training issues with DD.........but any tips would be appreciated.

Since we are getting ready to take a trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) in November, I know I'll have a lot to talk about beforehand and after. Speaking of my trip.......