By Tink's Agent, Maggie. With Christmas less than six months away, I have been reminiscing about my engagement at the one and only Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Walt Disney World® Resort. Memories come to mind not just of Walt Disney World, but of one of the most amazing venues to say "I do" at on-property -- Cinderella’s Royal Table! I was completely surprised by my husband but according to him, Disney helped him plan the whole evening! We started with meeting Cinderella before we were seated. She was, of course, as beautiful and regal as ever, then we were seated at a window seat. Apparently this was the ‘best seat in the house’ according to our waiter! We enjoyed a wonderful meal together and then came dessert. They brought out what I was told was a ‘dessert platter’ it was covered with a silver case. They set it down and uncovered it -- and there was Cinderella's glass slipper! I looked up and my husband had the ring out on the table. He proceeded to get on one knee and pop the question! Of course, I said YES! Then we were whisked up to take several photographs while everyone in the restaurant was clapping! Even the princesses who had already visited our table came back and congratulated us! After the excitement, the nighttime firework show started up outside and we had a front row seat inside! We could see them right out our window at our table! It truly was magical! Afterwards we got to keep the glass slipper and were presented with wedding flutes for our upcoming ceremony. The flutes have Cinderella’s Royal Table engraved on them, and now sit in our china cabinet! Getting engaged at the Walt Disney World® Resort was definitely one of the most magical experiences of my life but what was even more magical was that everything was photographed, so now we will remember forever! This is just another reason that the Walt Disney World® Resort is considered the happiest place on earth! By Tink's Agent, Maggie. Animal Kingdom Park is one of my top favorite Disney parks! It’s just as good as Magic Kingdom in my opinion! One of the highlights is the unique photo opportunities there (like the one attached). With so many unique attractions you are bound to get the perfect ‘shot’! There’s the Tree of Life, the Floating Mountains, meeting Pocahontas and more! Just make sure you have purchased the Memory Maker! It makes things so much easier on yourself and your guaranteed pictures of your wonderful new memories! One thing you can’t miss at Animal Kingdom is Avatar Flight of Passage! It is my families favorite ride out of all Walt Disney World! So make sure you either get a FastPass or wait in line for this amazing experience! You won’t regret it! So get your tickets now and take an adventure into wildlife at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom Park! By Tink's Planner, Kimberly.
The Walt Disney World Resort® recently instituted a park reservation system in order to limit capacity in the parks. They began allowing guests to make park reservations beginning on June 22, 2020 depending on the type of tickets held. Those with resort reservations were able to make park reservations first; however, at this point anyone with a valid ticket through September 26, 2021 can and should make a park reservation to ensure they will be able to enter a Walt Disney World Resort theme park. Those without a valid ticket AND a park pass will be denied entry. The good news? Overall, the new Park Pass Reservation System is relatively simple. If you have made FastPass+ reservations in the past, it is very similar. By Tink's Agent, Kirby. As someone who frequents Walt Disney World® quite a bit, I always look for something new and exciting to do each trip. I usually am on the lookout for tours, special events or things outside of the parks that I have never done before. For one of my last trips I researched my different options and then decided to book the FerryTale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise. Let’s just say that it was one of the coolest things I have done in Walt Disney World! If you are a fan of the Magic Kingdom fireworks (or just a fan of great desserts) this is something you should consider! This special event begins at the Walt Disney World Transportation and Ticket Center around sunset. Cast members check you in to the left of the Ferryboat launch and give you a special light up lanyard. After waiting a little while the ferryboat arrives and everyone waiting is welcome to board. The ferryboat will set sail 50 minutes or so prior to the fireworks spectacular. On board the ferry you can go find a spot for the fireworks, grab a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), grab some sweet treats or get your picture taken by one of the Photopass photographers on board. As the sun sets you will find that there are many things around the ship that light up - tables, lanyards and more - making for a magical atmosphere! As the fireworks are about to begin the ferry boat captain will find a spot for everyone to watch. This view was one of the best I have ever had for the fireworks! The music is piped into the boat and there are no crowds so you won’t be fighting anyone for a view. Finally, after enjoying the fireworks show the ferry boat heads back to the Transportation and Ticket Center where everyone disembarks and then heads off to their next magical adventure!
I highly recommend this special event for anyone that is looking to celebrate something special or if you are looking for something new to do while at Walt Disney World. Advance reservations are highly recommended up to 180 days prior to your visit. If you have any questions about this special event or if you would like help getting a reservation please reach out to one of our travel planners at Tink’s Magical Vacations and we would be more than happy to help! Written by Tink's Planner, Jennifer C. Have you ever dreamed of visiting all 4 Walt Disney World theme parks in one day? You probably are thinking...is it even possible? The answer is YES! Let me share all of the details about how I conquered 16 major attractions, 2 shows, 1 fireworks display, 1 quick service meal, 1 sit-down dinner, numerous snacks, pictures with all of the iconic Disney landmarks and more!! I’ve been lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World countless times. I’ve been to every park more times than I can count on my fingers and toes. During my last trip to WDW in April 2019, I challenged myself to take my love of Disney to a new level! Instead of visiting one or two parks each day, I wanted to visit ALL four in one day! It’s something I’ve never done before, and I spent weeks preparing with my family how to master such a feat: strategic Fastpass planning, driving vs. Disney transportation, Extra Magic Hours, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks?! So many details to consider!! Our “4 Parks, 1 Day” adventure took place with my parents, 12 year old sister and my fiancé on Wednesday, April 10th, 2019. Since we were staying on site at Animal Kingdom Lodge, a Disney resort, we were able to book our fastpasses 60 days in advance. Josh (my wonderful fiancé) and I booked FP’s for thrill rides, while my family chose other, less intense attractions. Our plan for the day was: Animal Kingdom (rope drop) → Hollywood Studios → Epcot → Magic Kingdom (extra magic hours 10 pm-12 am). We booked three FP’s for Hollywood Studios, and after we used all three at HS, we continued booking one at a time at the remaining parks! Ready to see how we managed visiting all four parks? Here is a breakdown of our schedule for the day: Started at Animal Kingdom: 7:00 AM - Cooked breakfast in the room to fuel up for the day! 8:00 AM - Drove to AK before rope drop (9 AM park open) We had a rental car, which saved a lot of time getting to and from parks. 8:40 AM - Entered the park before it opened. We then followed a cast member to the Expedition Everest standby line where we waited until the official park open. **We knew there would be higher crowds for Flight of Passage, so we skipped it on this day, but made sure to visit on a different day of this vacation.** 9:00 AM - First in line for Expedition Everest! 9:07 AM - Entered the first ride vehicle of the day for Everest. Woohoo! 9:17 AM - Walked to Africa and entered the queue line for Kilimanjaro Safari. 9:26 AM - We then walked to Dinoland U.S.A. 10:04 AM - Entered queue line for Dinosaur and then quickly boarded! We barely escaped the Carnotaurus! 10:45 AM - Mobile Ordered lunch from Satu’li Canteen during the walk from Dinoland U.S.A. to Pandora- The World of Avatar. 10:55 AM - Entered Satu’li Canteen and quickly picked up and enjoyed lunch. 11:17 AM - Met up with my family, exited AK and drove to HS. We had a solid two and a half hours at Animal Kingdom! Since we’ve been there so many times, we knew exactly which attractions to ride, how to get around the park (park maps are life savers!) and mobile ordering lunch ahead really saved us time. Josh and I shared our meal since the servings are so big, and we also wanted to keep snacking at each park so we didn’t want to fill up too early. Hollywood Studios: 11:37 AM - Entered gates at Hollywood Studios! 11:43 AM - First fast pass for Tower of Terror where we entered... The Twilight Zone! The other half of the family headed to Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. 12:00 PM - First row for TOT! Woohoo! 12:05 PM - Waited for next FP at Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Headed to Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy, which was conveniently next to RRC. 12:30 PM - Watched the 13 minute Racing Academy show 12:35 PM - Entered FP line for RRC! Aerosmith gave us some backstage passes! Woo! 1:12 PM - Headed to Toy Story Land for our final FP at HS. 1:35 PM - Entered the FP line for Toy Story Mania! At this time, we all started looking for new Fastpasses to book at Epcot on the My Disney Experience app. 2:20 PM - Grabbed a coffee at Starbucks on Hollywood Boulevard and exited the park. We spent another amazing two and half hours at Hollywood Studios. We were able to ride our favorite rides and we saw the new Racing Academy show featuring Lightning McQueen! The other half of my family enjoyed Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and Beauty and the Beast Live on stage. In between rides we grabbed small snacks (popcorn, Mickey pretzel) to keep us energized and filled up on water. It was HOT that day, so we made sure to stay hydrated! Epcot: 2:38 PM - Entered Epcot! Of course we stopped to take pictures with the Epcot ball! 2:45 PM - Entered the Single Rider line for Test Track (walked right on!!) We could only book one Fastpass at a time now, so we had to maximize our time by splitting up for this ride. 2:56 PM - We walked around for a bit before our Soarin’ FP. 3:03 PM - Entered the queue for Living with the Land, which is a hidden gem inside the Land pavilion! 3:25 PM - Entered FP line for Soarin’! All 5 of us booked a FP. 3:33 PM - As we were in line for Soarin’, we booked another FP for Space Mountain in MK, our last park! 3:56 PM - We exited Soarin’ and made our way to the World Showcase to enjoy the Flower & Garden Festival. We spent about an hour exploring all of the countries. We enjoyed a variety of snacks as we traveled around the world. Some of our favorites were the potato pancakes with ham, onions and sour cream in Germany, a honey tandoori chicken flatbread from the Honey Bee-Stro, and vegetable spring rolls from the Lotus House. 4:50 PM - Josh and I exited Epcot & made our way to the Ticket and Transportation Center to catch a monorail to MK. The other half of our group took the car back to the resort for some rest...it’s a lot of work to park hop all day! At Epcot we spent a little over two hours walking around, rode all of our favorite attractions and enjoyed the Flower & Garden Festival. We were able to fuel up on some snacks and drinks to give us a boost for the rest of our magical adventure. Next up is Magic Kingdom! Magic Kingdom: 5:22 PM - We made it to Magic Kingdom! Josh and I spent some time taking photos by the railroad station and on Main Street U.S.A to document our last park of the day. 5:39 PM - We had snagged a FP for Space Mountain so we went there first! After we scanned our magic bands for Space Mountain, we grabbed another FP for Buzz Lightyear right after. 6:00 PM - Boarded Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin to defeat the evil Emperor Zurg! 6:31 PM - Entered the queue line for Splash Mountain. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah! After Splash Mountain, we made our way to the exit of Magic Kingdom, and hopped on the monorail. We had a 7:30 PM dinner reservation with the rest of the family at ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort -- which was a perfect way to relax before we continued our quest for 4 parks in 1 day! 8:55 PM - We took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom with the whole crew! Magic Kingdom had extra magic hours from 10 PM - 12 AM this evening. 9:15 PM - We walked down Main Street U.S.A. and found a perfect spot in front of Cinderella’s castle to watch the Happily Ever After fireworks show. 10:15 PM - After the fireworks, we walked to Big Thunder Mountain railroad! No fast passes are given out during extra magic hours, so we just enjoyed going from ride-to-ride for the remainder of the night 11:45 PM - We gathered for a family picture in front of the castle. I could not believe we made it to all 4 parks in 1 day! 12 AM - That’s it folks! We made our way back down Main Street U.S.A. for our final walk out of Magic Kingdom. We were exhausted!! My Fitbit captured our mileage and steps for the whole day. In total: 14.2 miles walked and 34,753 steps counted. Wow! What a magical day! Would we do it again? YES!
Hello, my name is Frankie, I’m eight years old and my mom, Amy, is a Tink’s travel agent. This year I went to the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida and I stayed at the Polynesian Village resort. Here are my reasons why I loved the Polynesian Village. When you walk in and look straight ahead you see a Tiki man greeting you. As soon as you check in everyone gets a flower lei. When you walk through the lobby and walk out the sliding doors to the outside, look to your left. You can get a delicious Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai. If you look straight ahead you can see the pool. It looks like a volcano. There is a waterslide, waterpark for little kids and activities like making necklaces and music. There’s also a beautiful beach that you can see the Happily Ever After Fireworks from at night. We stayed in the Hawaii building. We had a balcony that looked out to palm trees. I noticed there was a pull out bed underneath the television and had a mural of Lilo and Stitch sleeping in a hammock. The couch also turned into a bed. My brother and I took turns sleeping in each one. There's a good restaurant at the Polynesian called Capt. Cooks and its next to the pool. On our last day we went to another restaurant at the resort called Ohana and met Mickey, Lilo and Stitch. That's why I loved the Polynesian Village in Disney World Florida. I can’t wait to go again! We always hear positive reviews about the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Game, and in this blog you are in for a special treat - we have two reviews from children of our Tinks' agents! Our First Review Comes from Tinkster Bella, whose mom, Kristen S, is a Tink's vacation planner! Hi, my name is Bella. I am going to tell you about the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game. First you go to the fire station that is on Main Street. If you have a group of people one person will be the portal opener. I had five people so we all scanned our magic bands. Then we all got a pack of cards which has five cards in it. You also get a map that leads you through battles throughout the Magic Kingdom. A cast member will tell you which Land your first portal is in. My first portal was in Fantasyland. I had to defeat Ursula for my first quest. Once I finished all my quests in Fantasyland, I was able to move to Liberty Square. When I played this game, I decided to break it up over a few days. You could also go to the park and work on a quest for several hours to finish it all in one day. Every day that you go to the Magic Kingdom, you are able to obtain another pack of cards. The cards have different Disney characters on them that have different powers like the Blue Fairy’s wand wish has two wishful attacks, two wishful boosts and 2 wishful shields (card fifty-seven). There are seventy cards in all and you can buy a binder at the git shop on Main Street to store your cards. I had so much fun doing this. I hope you try it too. Our Second Review Comes From Tinkster Ben, whose mom, Donna, also is a Tink's vacation planner. Hi, my name is Ben and I want to tell you about one of my favorite things to do at the Magic Kingdom. Have you ever wanted to be a Sorcerer for a day? Do you want to defeat Villains while they try to outsmart Merlin? Well you can in the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom park. This fun and exciting game takes you on an interactive scavenger hunt throughout the park. You start by visiting the Firehouse on Main Street, U.S.A. to sign up and receive your Sorcerer Key Card or activate your Magic Band for Key Master, Merlin’s mystical map and spell cards. Everyone in your group scans their Magic Bands to get spell cards and you choose one person to be the Key Master. The Key Master uses his or her Magic Band or Key Card to activate Portals throughout the park. Your mission is to help Merlin stop Hades and the rest of the Villains and get his crystals back. Once you get set up at the Firehouse, you will be given a starting Portal. There are 20 Portals throughout the park to visit and each section of the park has a different Villain. Head to the Portal and have the Key Master activate the portal by tapping the Key Card or Magic Band on the lock. The Portal will open, and Villain will appear with a video. You may need to choose one of your Sorcerers cards to defeat the Villain to move on to the next Portal. If you need to use a card, you will do so by standing on the Sorcerers Crest (as shown in picture) and holding card in front of portal. Once completed, Merlin will give you directions to the next Portal. My family has been enjoying this game for about five years now and every time we go, the game is a little different. Each time we go to the Magic Kingdom we sign up and get more Sorcerers cards, we have about one hundred cards now! We love playing and even have the game at home to play with. My brother and I switch off who is the Key Master so that we take turns and have the same amount of fun. My favorite Villain in the game is Maleficent and my brother's favorite villain is Ursula. We also like this game because it takes you throughout the whole park. I recommend this game to all kids and your parents! Tink's Comment: We want to thank Bella and Ben for reviewing the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Game inside Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World® Resort. Aspects we especially enjoy about Disney Destinations are the varied ways of experiencing the magic, whether it be a family's first visit or families who have returned again and again. The Sorcerers Game is a fun way to see Magic Kingdom through a different prism, and we thoroughly enjoyed the views of two of our Tinkster kids! We hope you enjoy the game sometime in the not too distant future too ... and if you do, please report on your experiences here in the comments section! By Tink's Planner, Kathy F. The Walt Disney World® Resort offers several different options when it comes to special fireworks viewing parties. I have been to Walt Disney World® many times and have seen many of their spectacular fireworks shows but I have never done a private viewing until on my last visit when I decided to book the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage for my family. This voyage included tasty treats, character meet and greets, and a cruise on the Seven Seas Lagoon to watch the fireworks show that takes place at Magic Kingdom. The adventure started at Disney's Contemporary Resort. We arrived about 45 minutes before the event by car and were able to park in the Contemporary Resort's parking lot since we had a reservation. The check in desk was easy to find on the third floor. A friendly cast member explained the itinerary to us and gave each of us a pirate scarf to wear so we can easily be identified as being part of the group. He gave us a card which told us we would be on Captain Hook's boot and it showed which row we were assigned to sit in. Since we arrived early he asked us if we would like to do a scavenger hunt while we waited. The scavenger hunt took us around the lobby area of the resort and was a lot of fun. After we were done we turned in our completed sheet and my daughter was able to pick a prize from a treasure chest. The event started with two "identical twin" pirates both named Patch coming out to greet us. They invited us into the party room for refreshments. There was a nice spread of snacks including cupcakes, cookies, popcorn, pita chips, fruit, ice cream bars, chocolate coins and a variety of beverages including pirate punch, hot chocolate, coffee and tea. Some of the snacks were prepackaged and we were told we could take as much food as we wanted home. We ended up taking home a purse full of chocolate coins! Captain Hook and Mr. Smee were in the room mingling with us the entire time and available for photos. We were then divided into two groups, one for Captain Hook's boat and one for Mr. Smee's boat. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee then led us outside to the boat dock. This was a lot of fun and I loved being in a private parade with the characters while onlookers wondered how we got so lucky! We made one final bathroom stop before boarding the boats and were told that we would be on the boat for about 45 minutes. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee did not come on the journey with us but each of the boats had one of the Patch twins on board to guide us. Patch was amazing at keeping everyone entertained the whole time with songs, trivia, games and lots of interaction with the kids. The time flew by and before we knew it, it was time for the fireworks. The view from the boat was amazing and I really enjoyed the feeling of watching the show with a small group of people instead of the massive crowds I am used to in the parks After the fireworks show ended we headed back to the dock and Patch kept us entertained again. He gave out pirate themed prizes to all the kids. One last surprise was waiting for us at the dock: Peter Pan was there to welcome us back. We followed Peter Pan to a special photo spot just for the Pirates and Pals Voyage group and we got a private meet and greet with him to end the night. My family and I absolutely loved the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage. My three year old daughter was entertained the whole time and still talks about how much fun she had when we went to "Captain Hook's party". This event is definitely worth the price in my opinion and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a fun night with pirates and a special view of the fireworks.
By Tink's Agent, Michelle R. Since its debut at Disney Springs, Amorette’s Patisserie has become famous for their creative and skillfully-crafted desserts, including their dome cakes. This location gives Disney guests the opportunity to try their hand at crafting “these little beauties” during their Cake Decorating Experience where my daughter and I had the opportunity to decorate a Minnie Mouse Cake where, of course, all pieces are 100% edible! by Tink's Agent, Kathy D. Whenever we are at the Walt Disney World® Resort my family always saves one night of our vacation to head on over to Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside to grab some dinner and enjoy Yehaa Bob, the piano player in the River Roost Lounge. Yehaa Bob has been entertaining folks at Walt Disney World® for over 22 years and was awarded the Disney Legacy Award in 2013. Bob’s show is kid friendly, full of family fun and free! Before the show begins, Bob circulates the room, asks people their names, where they are from and if they are celebrating any special events. When his show starts, he works all his intel into the show, making it personal and extra fun. I don’t know how he remembers everyone, but he does!
By Tink's Agent, Maggie. Everyone knows that the Walt Disney® company hires some of the most talented performers in the world. Dancers, singers, and entertainers everywhere dream of one day becoming a Disney cast member. As young children in music class, dance class, or singing lessons that dream can feel so far away and impossible. Luckily, Disney offers several opportunities to get a head start or a sneak peek behind the Disney curtain! Through Disney Performing Arts and Disney Youth Programs this is possible! These programs offer performance opportunities, workshops, and more! These unique opportunities give kids the chance to see what it is really like to be a Disney performer and also to get a head start in their future career! By Tink's Agent, Jessica. When we recently traveled to the Walt Disney World® Resort, we booked a first hair cut package at Harmony Barber Shop because it was literally the only way we could get our strong willed three year old to agree to it. A summer of swimming in the pool had done some damage to her long locks and she was overdue! Given that my daughter was three years old, I was a little nervous they would think it odd that I would bring her in for this package. She wasn’t exactly a baby anymore, but those little baby curls were still as precious to me. By Senior Tink's Planner, Lynn. There are many great restaurants to experience at the Walt Disney World® Resort in both the parks and resorts but one of the best is California Grill. Not only is the food amazing but the view is SPECTACULAR!!! This restaurant is located on the 15th floor of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, you know, the one that the monorail goes through. Before going to the 15th floor, you must check-in at a California Grill podium located on the 2nd floor of the resort. You will then be escorted by a Cast Member to the elevator that will head straight up to the restaurant. Once you step off the elevator, you can’t help but see the breathtaking view of Seven Seas Lagoon and Magic Kingdom Park. If your table is not ready, you can get a pre-dinner cocktail at their bar and have a seat by the floor-to-ceiling windows and just take it all in. The California Grill offers over 300 wine choices which most are from California. Once your table is ready, a cast member will come and take you to it. On my most recent trip, our group got one of the best tables in the restaurant with the perfect view of Cinderella castle. |
Our vacation planners their children and yes, even some of our Tink’s clients, have written about their experiences in the Neverland Blog. The magic of Disney comes alive in an immediate way when our children visit the Land of Mickey and Minnie.
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