6 Great reasons why you don’t need to wait to book your 2021 vacation (with your Travel Planner)!7/27/2020 By Senior Travel Planner Meghan Umlauf Are you hoping to travel in 2021? Are you hesitant about booking ANY future travel due to so many unknowns? Here are 6 reasons why you can feel good about going ahead and booking that trip!! A refundable deposit and flexibility! During these very uncertain times it’s understandable why anyone would be hesitant to put money towards a vacation they might not be able to get back if they don’t take! Many vacation destinations are offering flexible refund policies. Currently ALL DISNEY destination vacations are offering a completely refundable deposit up until closer to the time of travel! For Walt Disney World - it’s as close as 7 days! For select dates, Disney Cruise Line is currently allowing clients to move their sail date up until 15 DAYS PRIOR with no penalties. In addition there’s nothing set in stone until you make your final payments and even then some modifications can still be made without penalty! By Tink's Agent, Scott. My family and I recently visited the Walt Disney World® Resort at the end of June shortly after its reopening. We knew that the theme parks were not open yet and were interested to see how things were different. We were looking forward to enjoying the resort and Disney Springs. Here were my observations and takeaways. 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. My family and I took a Royal Caribbean cruise of the Greek Isles that left from Civitavecchia, Italy. Our last port of call was Katakolon - the day before - Athens, after Mykonos and Santorini! I have shared more about our pre-stay in Rome in my post “Rome in a Day and a Half”, our day in Santorini in my post “Santorini Port of Call”, our stop in Mykonos in "Mykonos Port of Call", and Athens in "Port of Piraeus (Athens)" This port on the southwest coast area of Greece - and is the port closest to the site of Olympia, Olympia is an ancient Greek sanctuary in the Peloponnese region in southern Greece where every four years the ancient Olympic games were held. The archaeological site held over 70 significant buildings, and ruins of many of these survive, although the main Temple of Zeus survives only as stones on the ground. We joined a group of other cruisers found through Facebook for a private tour of this site that included a meal at a traditional taverna with an opportunity to swim! By Senior Travel Planner Meghan Umlauf My family and I took a Royal Caribbean cruise of the Greek Isles that left from Civitavecchia, Italy. Athens was our third stop, after Mykonos and Santorini! I have shared more about our pre-stay in Rome in my post “Rome in a Day and a Half”,our day in Santorini in my post “Santorini Port of Call” and our stop in Mykonos in "Mykonos Port of Call" With so much to see in Athens, we decided to sign up for a Royal Caribbean Excursion to make sure we saw it all! We had from 6:30a-6:30p in this port and out excursion began bright and early with our meeting time of 7:30a in the theatre on the ship… once were given our group numbers to break us into smaller group for our guides - we disembarked the ship to the busses to take us into Athens. We had met another family from MA, and the kids had hit it off - and we were happy to discover they too were booked on this excursion and in our group!
We had a comfortable air conditioned coach bus to take us on our fairly long journey into Athens. Due to standard Athen traffic - this ride was about an hour, during which time our guide gave us an overview of our day - and what to expect and what we could and couldn’t bring to certain stops… our first stop was the Acropolis - to see the Parthenon! By Tink's Agent, Kathy F. Are you ready to get out of the house and take a vacation? Are you looking for something less crowded and busy then a theme park while still maintaining that Disney magic? A great option to consider for your next family vacation is Disney’s Vero Beach Resort which is only about a 90 minute drive from the Walt Disney World® Resort on the east coast of Florida. I took a trip to Disney’s Vero Beach Resort with my family last year after spending a week at the Walt Disney World® Resort and I was amazed at what I found at this not well known Disney destination. The main appeal of Disney's Vero Beach Resort is that it is directly on the beach. It only took me about five minutes to walk from my room to the beach. The beach has several access points from the Resort for guests to use with key cards. This allowed for an enjoyable crowd free experience. Umbrellas, cabanas, beach chairs and lounge chairs are available to rent. My family rented a cabana for the day, which is basically a half dome cloth tent with two lounge chairs and it was perfect for a nice relaxing and private spot on the beach. We were even given a bucket full of sand toys to borrow for the day when the cast member helping us saw that we had small children. The waves were small and gentle during our stay and even toddlers and babies could easily play in the water. This beach is also a sea turtle habitat that is frequented by three species of endangered sea turtles for nesting. I saw several areas that were roped off on the beach that contained sea turtle nests. The resort offers sea turtle outings from May to October to allow guests to observe the sea turtles, and is dedicated to the conservation of these wild animals. Disney's Vero Beach Resort offers deluxe inn rooms, deluxe studios, one bedroom villas, two bedroom villas and three bedroom cottages. The villas and cottages all include full sized kitchens so meals can be made right in the privacy of your room. On my vacation, I stayed in a deluxe inn room which included a kitchenette with a small refrigerator, microwave, sink, plates, cups and utensils. The inn rooms are conveniently located in the main building and have two queen sized beds. I found the room to be modern, comfortable and immaculately clean. All of the furniture, wall art, flooring, and fixtures looked to be recently updated and I could not find any faults. When exploring the grounds, I was impressed with the three bedroom cottages which are stand alone two story beach houses with spectacular ocean views. Food was easy to find at the Resort. The Winds & Waves Market is a quick service location right by the pool with basic offerings such as burgers, sandwiches, salads, Dole whips, Mickey pretzels and a soda station. My family and I ended up eating all of our meals at the Winds & Waves Market, and, being a vegetarian family, we were pleasantly surprised with the variety of options available for us. The Winds & Waves Grill is a sit down restaurant and The Green Cabin Room and Winds & Waves Bar are two bars on property. There was so much to do at this resort that my family never left the property during our entire three day stay. The pool area at the Resort is amazing and I spent hours relaxing and having fun there. The pool is located only steps away from the beach so it was really easy to go back and forth from the beach to the pool. One of my favorite attractions at the pool was the Pirate's Plunge Pool slide, which is a two story spiral water slide. For smaller children, there is a nice splash pad area with a pirate ship and a mini water slide right next to the main pool. The pool area also features lots of activities like a nine hole pirate themed miniature golf course, pool tables, bike rentals, a playground and much more. For adults, the Resort offers a spa for massages and other soothing treatments. On select evenings we found that a sing along campfire was going on out by the fire pit where families were having a blast. My three-year-old daughter joined in at the campfire one night and she absolutely loved singing and dancing with all the other kids followed by eating s'mores. Disney characters are not normally present at this resort although in the past they have made appearances during select mornings for breakfast. We did not see any characters during our stay but that did not diminish the Disney magic in any way. Disney's Vero Beach Resort offers a relaxing getaway. It is a perfect stand alone vacation or a way to spend a few days unwinding after a hectic and exhausting week at Walt Disney World. Additionally, the cast members at this resort were all phenomenal and went above and beyond my expectations when it came to customer service. I will definitely be adding more visits to Disney's Vero Beach Resort in my future. Tink’s Magical Vacations can help book your family’s next vacation at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. Contact us today and let’s start planning your magical vacation! 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 Tess and Melissa, children of Tink's agent, Michelle R. Materials Needed: 1/2 Yard of Fabric, Headband, Hot Glue Gun, Markers, Trim for Around the Ears, Fabric for Bow, Exacto Knife/Cutting Mat, Cardboard, Poly Fill Stuffing, Ear Templates. Step One: Use the ear template (Link) to cut out your ear pattern on both your fabric and your cardboard. When you are cutting out your ears from the cardboard you are going to use the template that is labeled ‘ear sewing line’. When you are cutting out the fabric for your ears use the template that is labeled ‘ear cutting line’. When cutting out the fabric for the ears make sure that you don’t mark the bottom of the ear and that you leave extra room on the bottom of the ear. (4 of each). Step Two: Once you have the cardboard ear cut out and the fabric cut out you are going to hot glue the fabric onto the cardboard ear. When hot gluing make sure that you don’t hot glue the bottom so that you can stuff your ears in the next step. Step Three: When your ears are all hot glues together you care going to stuff your ears with your poly fill. This will make your ears nice and plushy. Step Four: Once your ears are stuffed you are then going to hot glue them shut. You are going to do this for all four of your ears. Step Five: When you have all four ears stuffed and closed you are going to use the ones that match up the best and you are going to hot glue them together. Step Six: Then you are going to take a trim of your choice and you are going to hot glue the trim onto the edge of both ears to hide where you hot glued your 2 ears together. Step Seven: Making the bow, in order to start making the bow you will need to first get two pieces of fabric. Then use the Bow tutorial link in order to make a 5 inch bow for the center of your ears. Step Eight: Once you have all of your pieces to your ears you can now glue them onto your headband! When doing this, we like to line them up with a pair of park ears to match them up as best as possible. When you match them up, mark a little spot with a marker so that you can glue everything onto the ears exactly where you want them. After everything is glued on you are good to go and now you have a custom pair of Minnie Ears! Tink's Tip: In case you aren't feeling motivated to make your own ears, Melissa and Tess have created an etsy shop called "Oh My Magical Ears." So head on over and check out their store! 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, Cathy. Last month, I spent an incredible day onboard the Disney Wonder while 2200 passengers went ashore. While the bulk of the passengers disembarked I enjoyed a quiet breakfast of specialty coffee and pastry by the nearly empty adult only pool called Quiet Cove. I stayed by the pool relaxing for a few hours, enjoying the warm sunny day and felt more like I was at a spa than on a cruise. A little later, my niece and I set off to explore the ship. We were able to enjoy much more of the Disney theming with the only 500 passengers onboard. We saw nods to different Disney movies and New Orleans more clearly, and so much more! We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Tritons. With only 3 tables occupied when we arrived the servers spent a lot of extra time joking and getting to know us. In the afternoon we walked the upper decks enjoying the beautiful day and all the free space. We walked up and down the stairs also, looking for the Disney ducks we had been finding, photographing and posting to Facebook. Because the ship was less full the spa even let us set up a small photo shoot for one of the ducks “having a spa day”! Character access (always very good on a Disney cruise) was even better with very small lines and each character spent lots of time talking/gesturing with us! In spite of some of my original plans, the day was relaxed and busy at the same time, and I never made it to the gym. I highly suggest anyone interested in a relaxing day try a day "onboard" like I did. You will NOT be bored if you stay onboard! By Tink's Chief of Creative, Beth. As we navigate uncertain times with a worldwide pandemic on our hands, one way to work through trying times is to harken back to the words of Walter Elias Disney. So many quotes from Walt Disney come to mind that can give us all some inspiration and comfort! Here are a few quotes from Walt Disney that resonate right now! "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." "Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future." "If you can dream it, you can do it." "All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me ... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you" "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." "Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised. Usually it implies risk - especially in new undertakings. Courage to initiate something and to keep it going, pioneering and adventurous spirit to blaze new ways, often, in our land of opportunity." "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." And one of my favorites of all time by Walt is this: "I resent the limitations of my own imagination." Let's all hold onto Walt's inspiring words during these trying times. All of us at Tink's Magical Vacations believe in Walt's vision, and are here for our clients!
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.
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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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