All posts filed under: Travel

Our First Disney Vacation — Day Three

Published by

Day three was once again a park day. We decided to visit Magic Kingdom again in the morning, just to hit any of the attractions we missed the day before (not to mention that with a three year old princess we felt that Magic Kingdom would be her favorite park). Then in the afternoon and night we hit Epcot to see the new Frozen ride and  IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth which is a family favorite (lots of good memories of watching this show when we were kids). We had a good time at Magic Kingdom. We started with an early breakfast at Crystal Palace. As many Disney savvy moms know if you want any of those “alone in the park” pictures with the beautiful castle in the background and no crowds then the answer used to be to make an early morning reservation at one of the restaurants in the park. Restaurants open at 8 AM, while the park used to open at 9 AM. So if you had a reservation for 8 AM you …

Our First Disney Vacation — Day Two

Published by

Day Two of our vacation was a park day. The golden rules for park days is WAKE UP EARLY. Like 6 AM early and also to take breaks in between all the excitement. This is how our second day went down. Day 2 We woke up at 7 AM (see statement above) and got ready really quick. My little one got all dressed up in her Elsa dress and accessories. We all put on our Mickey Ears and headed down to grab a quick breakfast. We just used one of our snack credits to grab a muffin and the coffee was free (you get the refillable tumbler with the dining plan). Then we did something wonderful, and one of the reasons we stayed at the Contemporary… We WALKED to the park. It is a 10 minute walk from the lobby to the gate. After going through security you are in the park. Things have changed a little bit now with the new opening show. A burning question I had before our trip was how the opening …

Our First Disney Vacation — Day One

Published by

I find that the times right after a vacation are the times when life gets the busiest. Which is the main reason why it always takes me so long to write a blog about our adventures. Our Disney vacation was, in one word, MAGICAL. Months of planing really paid off, guaranteeing that our experience was wonderful in every way. I will recount day by day what we did and what it cost us.  So let us jump in! Day 1: We live in Florida, so we only had a 3 hour drive to get to Disney World, nonetheless we woke up early and were loaded up and on the road by 9 am. I had several little presents wrapped for our daughter which doubled as birthday presents and kept her entertained on the drive. Every half hour or so I gave her a “Tinkerbell Present” such as a Disney themed golden book, or a play set from the Disney store, or the wooden magnetic princess dress up. Since I planned in advance I was able to …

Finding the Value in a Disney Resort — Guest Post

Published by

By Jennifer Cavagnaro I wasn’t raised with a ton of money. My mom was single and she saved for years in order to bring my brother and I to Disney World at the age of 10. I remember every single minute. We stayed at the All-Star Sports Resort (a well-known value resort on the Walt Disney World property) and we only went to the Magic Kingdom. It was extremely hot out and after only a few hours of rides, my brother and I begged to go back to the hotel and play in the pool. Fast forward 22 years… I’m a mom of 4 children and a true Disney lover! You might be thinking: “Four children? At Disney World? This woman is nuts!” Truthfully, I can’t argue with you there! I think my first trip to Disney as a mom was in 2009, when Brianna was 1. We stayed at the All Star Sports hotel, as it was the only one that I knew about and it brought back so many memories. Since then, I …

Planning a Vacation to Disney World — Where To Stay

Published by

*Please note that originally I was going to do a post for all five categories, but Accommodations got toooo long making it a monster of it’s own, so I had to break the original Basic’s post into two. First we discussed My Disney Experience, ADRs, FastPass+, and Magic Bands in Planning a Vacation to Disney World — The Basics. Now we will go over Accommodations (Disney resort categories. Staying on property v. off, etc.). Deciding Where To Stay The first question that you may have is: “Where do I stay?” To answer that, we need to look into what Disney has to offer. They have three main categories of resorts which are based on price point. Value Resorts –  Cost: The cheapest of the three categories at an average of $150 per night. Price varies depending on season and room type, can fluctuate from as low as $93 to $200. They do have suites at a higher price. Accommodations: The rooms tend to be the smallest at about 260 sf. for the average room. Double beds or a King bed. …

Planning a Vacation to Disney World — The Basics

Published by

The first step in this series is to discuss the “basics.” This is your starting point. While there is a lot of information, there is no need to feel overwhelmed; if you learn the following you will be able to navigate the planning process for your next Disney vacation like a pro… or more like a well-informed consumer. Disney has implemented several changes in the last couple of years in an effort to make your stay as magical and painless as possible. There are different tools and systems that have been put in place to make the booking and planing experience extremely easy and user friendly. We will discuss My Disney Experience app and website, ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations), FastPass+, Magic Bands, and how to choose the right hotel for you. So, lets get down to business… to defeat the Huns… *Please note that originally I was going to do this post for five categories, but accommodations got toooo long making it a monster of it’s own, so I had to break the original Basic’s post into two. …

We Are Going To Disney World

Published by

Photo Credit: Disney World Resort We have been meaning to go on a Disney World vacation since last year when our daughter turned 2. However at that time work got extremely busy, we also had to move our office, and to be honest I was not too excited to go to Disney in the first place since my Disney World experiences have always been stressful, tiring, and expensive. In the past, as a Florida resident, my family and I have gone to Disney World several times. My parents took us many times as children, and while I enjoyed it, it was never a magical experience for me. I never forget the last time I went with my brand new husband and my extended family. We were a big group (about 15 people, 2 of which were toddlers) and NO PLANING whatsoever went into this vacation. The powers that be (the people that were paying) decided to go on an impromptu Disney trip a weekend during the summer vacation. They booked a hotel in Kissimee that had a last …

Five Cruise Boarding Tips

Published by

Recently we had the opportunity to go on our second cruise. This time it was in a Royal Caribbean ship, (our first time it was aboard the Carnival Fantasy), The Empress of the Seas. Once again this is one of the smaller ships of the float, which makes for a more relaxed experience. At some point I will do a comparison between the smaller Carnival ship v. the smaller Royal ship. Today I want to give you some tips on boarding your cruise. If you do a quick google search you will find that this topic has been discussed ad nauseam. But after spending several hours reading through many travel blogs these are the tips that most everyone seems to agree on. As far as my own experience I can confirm that these are great guides to follow. Some extremely obvious (don’t leave your passport) others not so much (bring a bottle of wine/champagne), here I give you 5 tips that will make your life better on embarkation day. 1- Be early – There seems to …

A Day In Nassau

Published by

Earlier this year I had the opportunity of going on my first cruise to Nassau, Bahamas. We went on the Carnival Fantasy. The ship is one of the smallest in their fleet, but it was actually a pretty nice, relaxed cruise. I write about our food experience aboard the ship in the following post: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3. Now this post is our candid opinion about our time in Nassau. My husband and I were not very impressed with Nassau. This was our first cruise together and our first time in Nassau. We were expecting an adventure Anthony Bourdain would have been proud of… instead we found a very touristy town. Previous to the trip we tried to be adventurous explorers and did many hours of research trying to find authentic food restaurants, to find historical sites, and meaningful adventures. We came up with what we thought was a promising plan, rented a scooter and headed away from all the tourist hangouts (Senor Frogs?) and went inland to explore. When we went inland we were …

Paris Morning Bakery

Published by

Name: Paris Morning Bakery Cuisine: Korean Bakery Location: 4900 S University Dr, Davie, FL 33328 (Also has a location in Lauderhill and one in Plantation) Paris Morning Bakery is a Korean bakery, we have been to two of their locations and have enjoyed them a lot. First the atmosphere. The place is very nicely decorated, clean, and has a modern feel to it. It is a bit different as far as: you come in, grab a tray and serve yourself what you will be buying. You can then pay for it and eat it, or you can ask the lady at the counter to wrap it up for you. The service is excellent. They are very kind and attentive. If you don’t like your drink, they will make you a new one. They are happy to assist you. The food is very good. Understand that it is a little bit different, kimchi croquettes, breads stuffed with sweet potato, sweet breads, most things are sweet. I happen to love the kimchi croquettes. It is filled with a …