 By Tink's Agent, Kathy F.
After being closed for over a year, the Disneyland® Resort opened its gates for California residents at limited capacity once again on April 30,2021. My family and I were lucky enough to get park tickets for the opening weekend and return to the magic.  Written by Tink's Travel Planner, Kathy.
My family and I just returned from our fourth stay at Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa in Oahu, Hawaii. Things were a little different this time due to the restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic but we still had an amazing time.  By Tink's Agent, Missy. I recently had the most delicious cookie ever at Gideon's Bakehouse, located in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World®. The entire process of purchasing the cookie was an experience. We arrived at Disney Springs for shopping and a dinner reservation at around 5pm. I had heard from friends the previous day that there were crazy long lines for Gideon's. Challenge accepted! I went to see what the buzz about Gideon's was all about. There was a woman at the end of a short line with an ipad. I asked how long the line was and she told me three hours. Then she informed me it was three hours in a virtual queue. I put my name in and headed to dinner. About 2 and half hours later I received my text alerting me to head back to Gideon's Bakehouse. When I got back a woman asked my name and told me to wait in a short line. About ten minutes later I was at the door. Going into Gideon's is an experience. The doors that you walk through look like dungeon doors. When you walk in it is dark and a little smokey. The decor resembles an old library. Available for purchase are cookies and cakes. All cookies are half pound. I purchased the chocolate chip and peanut butter crunch. The clerk told me I should buy the containers of frosting to dip them in. I followed her advice and purchased vanilla and peanut butter frosting. So good! Over all, it was a really cool experience and the virtual line made it possible for me to get my yummy treats!  By Tink's Planner, Kathy F.
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort is designed after a 1940's style hunting and fishing lodge and has deluxe studios, one bedroom villas, two bedroom villas and three bedroom grand villas. All the villas include a full sized kitchen, living room and a washer and dryer. Most rooms are only accessible by stairs because the buildings are raised to prevent flood damage during storms and hurricanes. Some accessible rooms can be found in the main building, but must be requested ahead of time. When I stayed there in 2018, I was in a two bedroom villa and found the room to be very comfortable and clean.  By Senior Travel Planner, Meghan Umlauf
While we all are paused from cruising at the moment, due to COVID-19, and with the hope that Disney Cruise Line will still release at least one of the 3 new ships they announced they would be - I thought I’d look back and share my family's experience on the Maiden Voyage of the Disney Dream back in 2011!  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!  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 Senior Travel Planner Meghan Umlauf
My family and I recently took a Royal Caribbean cruise of the Greek Isles that left from Civitavecchia, Italy. Mykonos was our second port of call after a glorious day at sea and stopping in our first port of call - Santorini! I have shared more about our pre-stay in Rome in my post “Rome in a Day and a Half” and our day in Santorini in my post “Santorini Port of Call”  by Tink's Magical Vacation Planner, Kirby.
When you meet your favorite character, or watch your favorite show at the Walt Disney World® Resort, I am sure you’ve noticed their costumes and outfits, but do ever wonder how they are made? Recently, I got the chance to tour creative costuming, where they bring all the character’s costumes to life!  By Senior Travel Planner Meghan Umlauf
My family and I recently took a Royal Caribbean cruise of the Greek Isles that left from Civitavecchia, Italy - Santorini was our first port of call after a glorious day at sea! I have shared more about our pre-stay in Rome in my post “Rome in a Day and a Half” Santorini holds a special place in my heart as it is where my husband and I got engaged over 20 years ago - at sunset in the small village of Oia - known for its spectacular sunset views. So much of our reason for this trip was for this port of call!!  by Senior Travel Planner Meghan Umlauf
We recently sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas out of the Port of Civitavecchia for a 7 night Greek Isles cruise - as a platinum Disney Castaway Club member, why not Disney Cruise Line, you ask? Well this trip was to celebrate my 20th anniversary and sadly Disney didn’t offer a Greek Isles itinerary in 2019! So the choice of ship was made based on itinerary, and dates! We arrived in Rome a day and a half early - both to acclimate to the time change and see Rome!  My family (my husband and two teens - ages 16 and 13) and I recently went on a cruise that left from the Port of Civitavecchia, and since we flew into Rome we decided to fly in early both to see the city and to help we get acclimated to the time zone!
We flew out of Newark Airport and our 9:00pm flight was delayed slightly, and so we began our vacation off right with a late “european dinner” in the terminal. Once we were in the air, the flight was uneventful and fairly comfortable - we flew Norwegian Air straight through to Rome… arriving there around 14:30 (2:30pm)... and with a 4:30pm tour booked, we knew we’d have to hurry to make it - even by “Italian time”.  Aventura Robot By Tink's Senior Vacation Planner, Mindy S.
In May 2019, Tink's Agents got the exciting opportunity to have Lynette Granger (from Universal Orlando Parks and Resort) escort us through tours of the Aventura Hotel, Sapphire Falls Resort and the Royal Pacific Resort. We toured various areas of each resort as well as a standard room in each. The Aventura Hotel is modern and stylish. It is literally right across the street from Universal’s Volcano Bay™ and offers great views of all three Universal Orlando theme parks. |
Check out some of our trip reports, tips and tricks and different Disney experiences in out blog!
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