Movies to Watch Before you go to DIsney World

We're going to Disney World!! Pretty much the most exciting thing you can hear as a child, or  an adult. You save and plan and plan and plan some more. Now your trip is right around the corner and you want to watch some movies to get you in the Disney spirit!  I have come up with my families list of must watch before a big Disney World trip! We think Disneyland has a different set of movies as different castle means different princess... you get the idea. So lets start with my top Disney movies to watch before you go to Walt Disney World. 

1. The Classic Cinderella

     I absolutely love the new live action version. But the classic 1950 original, produced by Walt Disney himself, is the one to get you excited for your trip.  It is what the castle in Disney World  was modeled after.  The characters you meet in the parks are dressed as if they stepped out of this classic movie.  If you're eating at Cinderella's Royal table within the castle this will get your family excited to meet the Disney royalty.  If your little is being made  into a princess in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, it is located on the ground level of the castle. And you may just hear those most magical words "bibbidi bobbidi boo" all around the Magic Kingdom.  Not to mention the start of every Disney movie shows this castle, it is a must watch! 

2. Lion King

This is a must watch if you're planning on visiting the Animal Kingdom Park. They have an amazing Lion King show here, with an acrobatic performance that will make your jaw drop. The Safari ride has a lot of animals that are referenced from the movie, and if you're lucky you may see Simba. Not to mention the cool Lion King merchandise and music you will hear around the parks. This is a family must every time we head to the Animal Kingdom!  

3. Pinocchio

 Is a 1940 Disney legendary movie. This is not a movie a lot of the younger generation has seen. Maybe it is old fashioned? Or some think it is scary? But it is a true Disney classic, and a work of art. Pinocchio is only the second animated feature film to be released  by Disney after Snow White.  With the start of wishing on stars and everyone's favorite conscience Jiminy Cricket this movie still has staying power. You will hear the music from Pinocchio in the parks and hear Jiminy Cricket asking you to make a wish. If you only watch this once, do it before your next visit!

4. Toy Story

The moment this movie came out in 1995 is was an instant classic. Now with three amazing Toy Story Movies you can watch all three or pick any from this set. I love the first one, and the third gets me every time! Andy giving away his toys, I just can't.  Especially as it came at a time when my daughter was out growing many of her favorite toys. I love the circle of life for the toys.  Now with Toy Story Land open where you will be able to step into Andy's backyard, and eat at Woody's lunch box. This Movie is sure to get you excited to visit Hollywood Studios!

5. Finding Nemo

Is a family favorite. My daughter would watch this on repeat when she was three years old. It not only brings back fond memories but gets me so excited to visit Epcot. In Epcot you can check out the Seas with Nemo and Friends. It is an adorable ride through the movie, and when you come out you're in a pretty cool aquarium. You can take pictures with Bruce, and rest assured fish (and people) are friends. After exploring the aquarium you can step into Turtle Talk with Crush.  The imaginers have out done them selves here this is a very cool experience, and a great spot to cool off on a hot day. 

If you're heading to Disney for any of the holiday season here are my choices for must watch:

Hocus Pocus. This 1993 Halloween movie is perfect to get you excited for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Where you will see the Sanderson sisters perform with some of your favorite Disney villains.  

The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween - Christmas movie. We think this is legit to watch anytime between the two seasons. We love the combination of the two holidays. If you plan to attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or the Very Merry Christmas Party,  you can meet Jack and Sally. In fact they are super popular characters to meet! Seeing this movie will get you excited for the meet and greets. 

If you plan on visiting Disney World at Christmas time then Prep & Landing it the must watch movie.  In Disney's Hollywood Studios they do a very cool projection show with a Prep & Landing Christmas theme.  Watching Wayne and Lannie  get into Christmas spirit is sure to get you into the Christmas Disney Spirit! 

Ready to book your Disney Vacation? Or have more questions? Contact me for a free no obligation quote. All my travel planning services are always free. When you book your trip through me I can act as your point of contact for all things Disney (no waiting on hold for you!) I will monitor discounts for you, and work with you to personalize your trip. You will be supporting my small business, I add extra pixie dust to make your trip special! 

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Winter Blues

When February hits I am looking for the escape button on this winter.  It is not that I don't enjoy winter activities, I do but it has been extra cold and icy... so yeah I am done with it. For years we went skiing in northern NH with friends. Those are some of the best memories. We stayed at the Mountain View Grand. I fear telling people about this resort because then it will be so popular I won't be able to afford to go anymore. I have to say it is my families hands down favorite resort we have ever stayed in. Granted we have only stayed there in the winter, but it is always amazing. They have so many activities, you can rent ice skate or bring your own and enjoy their man made skating area. You can rent a tube and enjoy tubing on their property. They have trails to snow shoe, ax throwing (it is a thing) and even dog sledding. Those are just the out door activities, they have a lot inside as well. A small movie theater you can pick your own movie and they even deliver popcorn. A game room, wine tasing and so much more.  Some of the most magical memorable family friend trips happened there.

But alas, this year it was not in the cards, maybe next year. I do miss it!! It is my favorite way to embrace winter! This year I am thankful my daughter and I are having our own little get away.

When I left Disney last year I had been looking for an affordable way to get back, even if it was a very short visit! The flights to get to FL were not bad but what  was making this near impossible was the flight home. After being persistent enough I finally was able to secure a flight home that did not drain our vacation fund.  Our plan is to be in Disney World for two days, one day at Animal Kingdom and then one day enjoying the pool and Disney Springs. After that we're off to visit family and have some relaxation on the beach. 

My daughters favorite park in the world is Animal Kingdom. She LOVES Everest. Which always makes me laugh as she was super afraid of it for a long time, now she could go on it over and over! The animals are also a top priority here. We always make time for the Jungle Trek and Gorilla Falls  and of course the famous Safari ride. 

New for us this year will be River of Light. We had missed it the last time we were there. So we made reservations at Tusker House (a favorite of ours) with the River Light dining package, this way we know we will make it, and have reserved seats! So stay tuned for pictures and video. If you want to follow along find me on Instagram: Instagram-MickeyTravels_Genevieve I will be sharing as we have a short adventure!

Where would you adventure off to if you could go anywhere this winter? 

Genevieve Buck MickeyTravels

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Making Magic One Vacation at A time

Free Disney Vacation planning from your local Disney vacation planner 

Portsmouth, NH

Why Use me as your Disney Vacation Planner

Greetings! I often hear two things about Disney vacation planners.
1. It must cost something?
2. But I like to plan things myself.

1. ALL my Disney Vacation planning services are FREE, always. It will not cost you anything extra to use my services. In fact I could save you money. I love all things Disney so I am always reading up on the latest attraction, or coolest new place to eat. I am a wealth of Disney knowledge, and if I don't know it. I have a whole group of MickeyTravels agents who have been there or done that and can help answer any question! 
When you book your trip through me I keep my eyes and ears open for the latest and greatest deals. Sometimes there is free dining offered, or a room discount. In order to get these crazy good deals you would have to be up at the crack of dawn the day they come out and wait on hold. But not to worry, when you book your trip through me I happily wake up before the sun and call my favorite place to see what magic I can work, getting you the best deals. 
So having me book your trip can actually save you money! 

2. I hear you and I LOVE to help plan out all the details. From where to eat to what fast passes to get. But if you are like me and love to plan the details of your own trip and you are welcome to! Once I have made your reservation, I will send you your confirmation number and you are free to set up your Disney Experience account. Which will enable you to make your dining and fast pass reservations! 
This way you have complete control over your trip and I am just here searching out the best deals.

But if you do not want to wait on hold or wake before the sun to dine with Mickey, I can do that for you! Booking your trip through me is the best of both worlds.  I can customize your trip, answer questions you may have, and look out for the best deals yet. All this for free!!

I can help plan and book all Disney vacations including: Disney World, Disneyland, Adventures by Disney, Disney Cruise line and Aulani Resort and Spa! 

Contact me for more information 

& your Free Vacation Quote!

gbuck@mickeytravels.com

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Disney Wold Vacation Planning... Why so much planning???

I feel like I have to over schedule my Disney World vacation! 

This is a concern I hear often. Especially from those who have not been to Disney World in the last 10+ years. Disney has changed over the years. It has grown, adding hotels, theme parks, so many more places to eat and more rides to be had! With the size, and the amount of people vacationing there is a certain level of planning needed to be done. Even during the less crowded times of year, reservations and fast passes are a good idea. This does not mean you will be living your vacation by the watch, it just ensures your getting to sit down for a table service meal and getting on the rides you want with little wait time. 

There are many ways to do this scheduling, and it really depends on the time of year you go, and how you like to vacation. A summer schedule will look different than a spring or winter schedule. Every family is different, and if you're with out children it is always different! 

Our Family Plan:

This basic plan would work for any trip, any time of the year. As always our vacation will be custom to you and your wants! 

My family is always excited to be in Disney, we do not often do long trips, but frequent short visits. When we are there we like to wake up and get to the parks first thing in the morning. If possible to see rope drop at the Magic Kingdom. It is a short magical little welcome to the park right before it opens. 

Becuase we are there so early we will eat lunch in the park, then head back to the hotel. This gives us pool time, or just time to relax and freshen up before the night time festivities! I schedule our fast passes for the park of choice in the morning. This way by the time the afternoon comes we have hit what we just absolutely have to hit, and we can take our time in the afternoon. 

I like to make a dinner reservation for us around 7pm or later. When my daughter was younger we would have to eat by 5 or disaster hit. Now she is older we can grab a snack later in the afternoon and keep on moving. I have always made a dinner reservation at the 180 mark, when dinning reservations are open. It isn't always needed to make them this far in advance, but is a peace of mind we've gotten reservations to those popular restaurants. Reservations can be changed as many times as you would like,  if they are available, up until the day before. If a restaurant has availability you will be able to make a reservation the day of, just not cancel a dinning reservation the day of with out penalty. 

I highly recommend making dinning reservations for any table service restaurant you really want to hit. Making these reservations is very easy, and I am happy to help anytime!  What I love about having a dinner reservation is after a long day at the park on your feet you don't need to think about what is next, and you have a place to sit to enjoy a nice meal! 

With so many options it can seem overwhelming, but not to worry, this is what I am good at. Planning a Disney vacation custom to your family so everyone will enjoy a most magical vacation! 

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Disney Vacation 2017

Greetings Disney vacationers! 

I am excited to announce that as of today the prices for 2017 Disney World vacations are out!! Yippee!! So what does this mean for you? It means we can start planning your most magical vacation. 

I have a passion for planning vacations, specifically Disney vacations! I work for a travel agency called MickeyTravels. We are an authorized PLATINUM level Disney travel agency. We specialize in only Disney vacations, which makes us experts in our field. We plan any Disney related vacation from Walt Disney World to Disney Cruise Line to Aulani Hawaii and more!

Our services are always 100% free. I know this sounds a little to good to be true, but it is true! I can save you time and money. As I am the one who  will wait on the phone or for the web site to load to make your reservations. I also know where to look for the best deals, and am on the look out for them as well,  so this could save you money too! 
   As an authorized Disney Travel Agent I can plan as much or as little of your vacation as you would like. I love looking into different hotel options as well as different package options. If you already know where and when you would like to stay let me make the reservations for you. I can help you with dining or even fast passes if you would like. Not sure where to begin? Give me a call or send an e-mail and we can talk about where to begin. 

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I am looking forward to hearing from you and helping plan your magical vacation! 

"Making Magic One Vacation at a Time" 

MickeyTravels !!

I am happy to share I officially have my Facebook page up and running! MickeyTravels-GenevieveBuck Here you will find information and news regarding Disney vacations of all sorts! What I love about my vacation planning job is that it is exclusive to Disney. That means when you want to go on a Disney cruise I am your girl to help plan. You want to take an amazing adventure in Italy? I am your girl to plan your Adventures by Disney. Time to go to California for the Disneyland trip you've been wanting to do, yup I am your girl! Disney offers so many wonderful vacations around the globe and here in the states. 

I love to plan your vacation like it was my own. Whether is be a short weekend away or a large family trip. I can help with all the details, or just making the hotel reservations. My services to help plan and make reservations are always FREE! This is great because it will not cost you any more if you were to book your self or use my services. I can not only save you money, by looking for the latest deals, but time! While I wait on the phone or online to get your reservations! 

Walt Disney World is huge and can be overwhelming to plan out. It also can be very expensive, and you want to make sure you get the most out of your time away. I am here for you. I can make hotel, dining, fast pass+ reservations for you. I will help make it a trip of a life time! 

Thank you for all those who give me that opportunity!

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The Big Announcement!!

I have been teasing on Instagram and even hinted on twitter about my big announcement.  It felt like a dream when I first heard, and I wasn't sure this was even real. I am beyond excited.

I have known what I am passionate about for a while. How to make my love of planning travel to Disney World (or any Disney Adventure) a reality was another thing. I love to talk to families who are planning a Disney vacation, or just came back from one. I love to hear about what they have planned or what they loved to do.   People would tell me I should do this for a job. I began researching how to be a Disney travel agent. I looked into travel agencies, Disney travel agencies. When I found one I thought I would enjoy working for I applied for the job.

I am proud and excited to tell you that I have asked to join the MickeyTravels team. One of the leading Disney travel agencies. MickeyTravels has eared the Platinum status (which only a few agencies have earned). They are an authorized Disney Vacation Planner.  This means they are an amazing Disney travel planning agency.

(we are totally just cool on this ride)

I have goosebumps as I type this I am happy to live my dream. I look forward to helping you plan your Disney vacation in the future!! If you have any questions please let me know. I love to talk Disney, anytime!

Disney World Summer Vacation Trip Report #2

      We arrived at the Beach Club before noon on a Sunday. It was great to be there before lunch time. Our room wasn't ready, so we put our bags in my parents room, changed into our bathing suits and headed to Hurricane Hannah's.
    Hurricane Hannah's is a great quick service restaurant located just out side Stormalong Bay. This location is great because anyone can stop by for a quick meal. Only the people staying at the Beach or Yacht Club can enter the Stormalong Bay area. They will scan your Magic Bang every day and give you wrist band, they use a different color each day. This is also gives you access to the water slides. So back to Hurricane Hannah's... They have a small menu, but with plenty of healthy options. You can re-fill you mugs here too.
    We spent the rest of the day hanging by the pool. Stormalong Bay is simply the best family pool on property. They have areas for all age groups, and we hit them all! The kids, big and little, loved the slides. The littlest ones loved the sandy bottom area,where the deepest part isn't over their head. The lazy river part can be very deep, and if you can get a raft, is a relaxing way to spend some time.
     Our room was ready around 3pm. After the time in the pool we headed to our room to unpack, and change for dinner. We walked around to the Boardwalk for some pizza. The Boardwalk Pizza isn't anything to write home about. It satisfied us but I wouldn't go there just for the pizza. The Boardwalk was just coming alive at this time, with people playing games and such. If you have never been to the Boardwalk it is a beautiful hotel, great for a grown up trip, or just to walk around and look at the details they have put into this resort, just lovely.

               

   
          As you can see from the picture below this is the main pool at the Beach Club. It is huge, and so much fun! On the left is the sandy bottom area. The very small pool at the end of the pirate ship is great small pool with a small slide for little ones. The is also the access area to the big slide. In order to ride the large slide you need to attain the wrist band I mentioned earlier. This is to keep the pool area exclusive to those staying at the Yacht or Beach Club. Which is appreciated as it is a busy place!

The pool and location of this hotel would make me want to come back! My daughter says next time she wants to stay at the Yacht Club, to try something new, but to be able to use this pool again! 

Parking at Disney World

Hello Travelers!
I have often been told "you should totally have a blog!" Well here I am trying it out. I absolutely love going to Disney World. I would go anytime of the year if given the opportunity. I have been in August, February, April, October & November a good variety through out the year. My ultimate goal is to get there and participate in a RunDisney event, (or all of them.) But in the mean time I love to talk to people about their upcoming trips, and help plan and answer questions people may have. We have done a lot in Disney, still a lot to discover. I am pretty good at answering questions or finding the answer to a what you maybe wondering. So I will offer my help, I will write about some things folks have asked about in planning their magical trips. We will start the first installment  of questions answered about the parking.

Disney has a huge piece of property with four theme parks, two water parks, and over 20 hotels, no wonder how to get around is confusing. I will divide this into two sections staying on property vs staying off.

Staying on property:
When you stay on Disney property, meaning you stay at any of the Disney owned hotels, they provide a variety of transportation to all the theme parks. You can step outside your hotel and take a bus, a boat, or the monorail. When taking anyone of these options to the Magic Kingdom they will all drop you off in around the same area.

In the handy Google image above you can see when staying on property you will be dropped off very close to the entrance to the park. They really do make it easy, and magical.  Just note when taking the bus system to and from your hotel they do not drop you off in the exact spot you will be picked up. But they have signs to help you find your way after a tired day. 

Side Note: This is also where you will go if you have a dinning reservation at any other Disney hotel. Say you are staying at the Art of Animation and are going to have breakfast at Cape May at Disney's Beach Club Resort.  Hop on the bus that says Magic Kingdom at your hotel. Hop off the bus here at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom and hop on the bus that says to the Beach Club. It is a bit crazy I know but really isn't hard, just takes time. And no park passes required!

When staying off property:

When staying off property you will either be taking your car, or a bus provided by the hotel. In either case they drop you off at the ticket and transportation  center. 

In the handy dandy Google image above you will see when you drive your car you will park in the huge parking lot. Then there is a tram for those who have to park so very far from the TTC (ticket and transportation center). This is also the place to get your park tickets if you haven't already, or will call if you will. :) Where I wrote "monorail" you can kind of see under it, that is the bus drop off for the hotels that are off property. Once you get to the TTC or Monorail area you will take the monorail to the entrance to the Magic Kingdom!! 

I would plan about  an hour from leaving your hotel, on and off property hotels, until you get inside the Magic Kingdom. This will be in case there are any other cars heading the same way that day, you would not want to miss your dinning reservation or your fast pass+ time because you where stuck in traffic or the bus was delayed.  The cast members who will be around the parking lots and ticket booth are very helpful if you have any questions. Getting into the park can take time but so very worth it! Have a magical day! 

Let me know if you have any Disney World Questions I can help you out with, and as always Thank You of reading! 

One day in Epcot

Greeting readers-

 We were fortunate enough to spend a day at Epcot last week. I know one day was just not enough, but I will take what I can get. We enjoyed the park from open till after close. It was a magic filled day. The day began with a stroll from the Swan where we had been staying.

When you stay at one of the Epcot resorts you get to enter through the counties. At this time of the morning the countries are closed. It is a cool way to walk through the park, and it is less crowded too!

We had our first Fast Pass+ scheduled for 9:15 so this gave us time to do something before. We decided to check out the lines at Test Track.  The sign outside said the wait would be 30 minutes, even though the park had just opened.  We decided to give it a chance anyways. I am so glad we did because it was not 30 minutes! Even though we had a Fast Pass+ for this ride later on, we love it!! We wanted to try to ride it more than once. Plus it gave us the chance to get the picture just right:

After a quick ride on Test Track we strolled over to Starbucks, grabbed our morning coffee and breakfast sandwich before heading to Nemo. Or the official name: The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Nemo has always been a favorite of ours. We love to spend some time after in the aquarium after the ride.

When we arrived for our Fast Pass+ for Space Ship Earth there was something not quit right going on. The line wasn't moving, and if you have ever been, you know this goes fairly quickly. Well as luck would have it something was not right with the ride, so they were turning people away and giving them Fast Pass+ tickets to use on just about any other ride in the park (not test track sadly). So while we waited for them to fix the ride we decided to use this extra ticket for Mission Space. 

This was a ride the family wanted to do.... me on the other hand not so much. See I had ridden this (the orange side) a couple years back while at food and wine, and my stomach was just not right the rest of the night. Something I'll never forget! But I was up for trying it again, just making sure I took the green side this time! It was a blast!! We actually got to ride it twice in the same day. I would recommend this ride, and do it again. I am not sure I would jump onto the orange side but could totally rock the green again.

Going to Epcot during their Flower and Garden is sort of like going during Food and Wine, but with gorgeous flowers!! 

Instagram <- you can check out more pictures via this link! 

Everyone loved checking out the flower arrangements, gardens and over all set up. It was cool to see them in different spots and even kind of hidden around the park. We also got adventurous and tried some of the food. Flower and Garden doesn't have as many booths as Food and Wine, but they are just as good!! I felt like the food booths for Flower and Garden were unique and had great flavors. Here are a couple if the pictures, sorry we ate to fast to photograph all the food we tried! But trust us it was tasty!

My daughter was most excited about this booth! 

From Morocco, Harissa Chicken with Couscous. Half way though my daughter reminds me to take a picture. 

Corned Beef and Cabbage from the UK

and Finally the Pineapple soft serve!

We also ate at the Mexican booth, America booth, and then had dinner in France. All so yummy!

Our original dinner plans got scraped when my husband checked out the menu to Chefs de France.  He really wanted to go here now. It was mid afternoon I wasn't sure if we could get in. But having my handy dandy iPhone with the Disney Experience app ready to go, I checked to see if they had any reservations. It was our lucky day because they had an opening around 8:10. Perfect we thought as our original dinning reservation was at 7:50 so only a little bit of a difference. 

I ordered the three course meal. Started with a salad, had the salmon for dinner and apple for dessert. It was all AMAZING! 

While eating here we got to see the fireworks from the windows, it is not a great view but it is nice that you don't totally miss the show. 

Chefs de France is a busy restaurant, some people were more dressed up others had just come from a day at the park. The servers were friendly and hard working. It was on the pricier side for a family meal, but it was one that was worth it. 

Our one day at Epcot flew by we got to do a lot, and missed somethings for next time. It is a big park with so many things to do and see. Because of the Fast Pass we got to ride some rides twice and right onto others. Epcot is my favorite park, ok top two. But only having one day I wouldn't change a thing. We savored somethings while checking others off that must do list. I love it here and can not wait to go back!