Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

Aboard the Disney Dream

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disney-thanksgiving

So, how was the Disney Cruise? People have texted that question, commented on Facebook pictures, and asked in passing. Depending on the circumstances, my answer has been something along these lines: “So great! We loved it!” or “I could have a stayed a few more days!”

Those short answers are true. We did absolutely love it and we could have stayed a few more days. But people want to know more, and, of course, I want to share more, so here I go.

The basics

We took a four-night cruise aboard the Disney Dream. We boarded in Port Canaveral, Florida, and then sailed to Nassau, Bahamas and Disney’s Castaway Cay, also in the Bahamas. We spent Thanksgiving aboard the ship. Because of flight prices home, we ended up spending most of Friday and Saturday in St. Augustine before flying home out of Jacksonville.

“We” means my family of five – including kids who are 9, 7, and 1 – plus Gran-Gran, who is my mother-in-law and the best travel companion around!

disney-boat

The ship

Disney Dream is larger than two of Disney’s older ships – Magic and Wonder. It’s 1,114.7 feet long and 137 feet wide. The ship has 1,250 staterooms, carries up to 4,000 passengers, and has 1,458 crew members. There’s an awesome water slide – AquaDuck – that goes out over the water. It’s a 765-foot water slide with a four-deck drop and a course that winds 13 feet.

Our party of six shared two connecting staterooms, which was perfect! Each room had a queen bed, a set of bunks that could be set up using the sofa and a twin bed that pulled down from the ceiling, and a murphy bed. The murphy bed would be in the way of the balcony, so my mother-in-law slept in one room along with the two big kids who were on bunks. Greg and I slept in the other room, where Rachel had a pack-and-play.

There is shuffle board, nine holes of mini golf, a basketball court, table tennis area, a walking track, three pools (one of which is for adults only), a hot tub, two theaters (one for Broadway-style performances and variety acts as well as one that shows first-run Disney movies), and a 24-by-14 foot LED screen that actually showed football on Thanksgiving Day.

There are three themed restaurants, two adult-only restaurants, a buffet, and multiple bars and quick-service stations. There’s a rotating dining plan that allows passengers to have scheduled dinner times at each of the three themed restaurants – Animator’s Palate, Enchanted Garden, and Royal Palace – with the same servers each night.

And speaking of restaurants, our servers were among our favorite parts of the whole cruise. They were funny and kind. Blake from India did magic tricks each night while Dorian from Jamaica bonded with Rachel and remembered what we all liked to drink.

disney-atlantis

The ports

At Nassau, Bahamas, we went to Atlantis Resort, where we interacted with dolphins and enjoyed the water park. The shallow-water dolphin interaction was on everyone’s list of favorite parts of the trip – and why wouldn’t it be? Especially because Rachel kissed a dolphin.

As Castaway Cay, which is Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, we fed, touched and snorkeled with stingrays – which was really neat but slightly terrifying, according to my oldest. We also enjoyed the beach, which included more water slides.

The entertainment

We ate at 5:45 each evening, and then went to that night’s show, which started at 8:15 or 8:30 p.m. Yes, I know that seems late for little ones – and two of three usually are in bed by 7:30 p.m. – but there’s an energy that keeps them going, plus the shows were excellent and worth staying up to watch. Each night we had a little time between dinner and the show so we usually played a trivia-type family game in another lounge on the ship.

There were three Broadway-style shows with many songs – “Villians Tonight,” “The Golden Mickeys” and “Believe,” which was my favorite of the three. The other night “Moana” premiered on the big screen – and we all enjoyed that!

disney-aboard

Overall

Like when we went to Walt Disney World, Disney vacation planner Jennifer Hart helped us make a reservation. She always does a good job asking questions and helping as much or as little as you want as you prepare for your vacation. (Read about our trip to Walt Disney World and why you should use a vacation planner.)

We loved the relaxing pace and all the ways Disney took care of us. The Disney Cruise was everything that’s good about a vacation – and we hope to board again one day.

*****

I have many, many more pictures I’m sure will show up on this blog at some point. And I’m happy to answer any other questions you have. 

10 Things I Learned at Disney

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October has been a crazy month. And I mean that in a good way. But, goodness, it’s flown by …

We went to Disney World and then I came home and released a book. I rarely do one thing at a time. So, needless to say, it’s been an exciting month. And these two topics are pretty much what I’ve shared about this month. But I have a little bit more I want to share about Disney, so that’s what I’m doing today.

In no particular order, here are 10 things I learned while at Disney …

1. Animal Kingdom is great.

It was on the schedule for our second day of parks, but I didn’t realize just how much we’d love it. Multiple of our favorite Disney things were there.

2. Magic Kingdom is best done over two days. 

And I liked that our two days weren’t back to back. We were able to do everything we wanted, except the new Seven Dwarf Mine Train. We saw both the afternoon Festival of Fantasy and the nighttime Electric Parade and preferred the earlier parade. Although all the lights at night were pretty.

3. Building in a day “off” was good for us. 

Two parks and then we went to Downtown Disney for lunch at T-Rex and some shopping, especially at LEGO Imagination Center. Then we spent some time swimming at the hotel.

4. Magic Bands, the dining plan, and Fast Passes are amazing. Magical, really. 

We didn’t regret the dining plan investment and loved the freedom and ease it created. To have that as well as our hotel entry, park admission, credit card and Fast Passes all on our Magic Bands was convenient. Even though I don’t normally wear watch, I kept looking at it to see what time it was! It’s not that magical!

5. Doing just Disney is more than enough. 

We would have loved Sea World, Legoland, or the beach, but I’m glad we focused on Disney. We didn’t even do EPCOT at Disney because I wasn’t sure my young kids would love it like the other parks, plus four days of parks just the right amount for us.

6. My kids – who are 4 and 7 – are at the perfect ages.

I’m glad we didn’t go to Disney any sooner and I’m glad we didn’t have to haul a stroller. Ben does still sometimes nap so he went the whole trip (minus 30 or so minutes while traveling from the park to the hotel) without a nap, which stretched him. But he managed and he slept well at night. We only kept them up late one night. Everything was really exciting to them. Of course, there’s still plenty to do if we go back when they’re older!

7. The My Disney Experience app is helpful.

Download it and maintain enough of your mobile device battery to use it throughout the day to keep track of wait times, Fast Passes, shows, and dining details. The only downfall is once you use the three Fast Passes you reserved ahead of time, you can’t add the subsequent Fast Passes. The Disney lady at one of the kiosks, where you can add Fast Passes, told me this feature is in the works.

8. Disney customer service and hospitality are top-notch. 

One of my favorite examples is not dealing with our luggage after checking our bags at the Nashville airport. Disney people retrieved them in Orland and then brought them to our room while we were out eating dinner that first night. Likewise, we checked them at the hotel before we boarded the bus for the airport and didn’t have to handle them again until we picked them up at the baggage claim in Nashville. Despite the hyperbole of Disney being the happiest, most magical place on earth, there really are happy, helpful people working there. And the parks are so clean, even with the crowds.

P.S. The customer service of the Disney planner we used also was fabulous. I highly recommend Wish Upon a Star with Jennifer Hart. And, hey, this service is free!


9. My kids can be rendered speechless. 

Everyone in our life except them knew we were going. We managed to surprise and shock them! More on that in an earlier post.

10. Buying souvenir items before we went was good advice from seasoned Disney traveling friends. 

It really nixed the “gimmes” that could easily come with all those Disney gift shops. I bought the kids some T-shirts, accessories, and pajamas that we gave them throughout the week. I gave them some coloring books and other Disney-related activities for both plane rides and had glow-in-the-dark bracelets and necklaces for the night we stayed late for the nighttime parade. Thanks to zulily sales, I found great deals on fun souvenirs in the months leading up to our trip and was able to incorporate gifts for the kids throughout the week. Ben’s gifts were wrapped in Planes paper and Cate’s in Frozen. They all were labeled for which morning or evening I wanted them to open them. They did each have some souvenir money from the grandmas, so they spent that at Downtown Disney, mostly on Legoes.

If you’ve been to Disney, what would  you add? 

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Want to read more about Disney so, do so here: Our Favorite {Disney} Things. 7 Reasons to Use a Disney Vacation Planner. And you can see even more pictures here.

I’m linking up with Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky, who inspired me to document life this way. I love these monthly posts that document life. Read more previous posts: {From 2013} June. July. August. September. October. November. {From 2014} January. February. March. April. May. June. July. August. September.

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7 Reasons to Use a Disney Vacation Planner

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When Greg and I started talking in January about taking our kids to Disney World, a couple different people recommended I talk with Jennifer Hart, who is a Disney vacation planner and happens to live in my town. So I sent her an email with some questions about what I was thinking for our trip that was being planned for nine months later. She emailed back quickly with advice and then quotes and then recommendations. She reminded me when it was time to book dining reservations and fast passes. And we even returned home to a sweet card from her.

Let’s welcome Jennifer here today as she answers the question “Should I use a travel agent to help me with my Disney vacation?” And, hey, you don’t have to live in Murray, Ky., to use her. We just happen to live in the same town, which was convenient for connecting a couple times before we headed to Orlando.

 “Should I use a travel agent to help me with my Disney vacation?” Well, because I am a travel agent, I bet my answer is obvious … ABSOLUTELY! You know that I am obviously biased, but let me tell you why …

1. The services I provide are FREE!

Really! I am paid a commission by the Disney for vacation packages that I book. There are no behind the scenes mark ups or hidden fees. Disney has very standard pricing and the company offers the same rates to all travel agents that it has on its website.

You may be wondering why Disney would pay a travel agent if they could book all of the travel themselves? The answer is actually pretty simple: Travel agents work to make your trip better. The more fun you have on your vacation, the more likely you are to go back.

2. I specialize in Disney, so I have knowledge, training, and experience. 

Not only do I have a LOVE of all things Disney and lots of experience, but I have also done training and taken tests to “earn my ears.” I have to work hard to keep my knowledge current with extra reading, online training, and onsite training.

I often get calls from overwhelmed people trying to plan the perfect Disney vacation for their families. Let’s face it, there are a lot of moving parts to a Disney vacation: transportation, choosing a hotel, sorting out all of the ticket options, dining reservations, figuring out which park to visit on which day, what FastPass+ selections should you make, whether to buy the Memory Maker, and a million other decisions. It is a lot to figure out! I like to get to know my families a little bit, figure out the budget, and help them make the most out of their time and budget.

3. I know what the discounts are and where to find them.

I have worked with many clients who were very surprised when my quote was substantially less than the exact same vacation they priced out themselves. Sometimes, you have to know that there is a sale and where to find it on the website in order to get that price. Sometimes shifting your days or even adding a day to your vacation can make it cheaper. I help you figure out how to save the most money!

My favorite story is about a family who called and said that they wanted a vacation to Disney and knew exactly what they wanted. She just wanted me to book it for them. She was in a bit of a hurry, so I got the information I needed in order to book her vacation. As I began pricing out her vacation to book it, I realized that what she thought she wanted was not really the best idea. I called her back and asked if she could check in one day earlier. She thought that she was pretty set on her travel dates until I explained that if she checked in one day earlier, her entire vacation would cost $800-$900 less! A longer vacation for less money – SURE!

If someone books a vacation with me, I am constantly looking for sales and will apply the best sale. We cannot stack sales, so I always pick the best one to save the most money. If you book through Disney direct, you can do this too, but you have to watch for the sales and call Disney yourself to have the special applied. They do not automatically do it for you!!

4. I can help you save money in other ways.

Personally, I try to spend your money like I would spend my own. Sometimes spending a little extra gives you a lot, but sometimes spending more is just spending more. I also try to let my clients know where they should splurge and where they could save a few dollars. Sometimes you don’t need as much as you think.

On many occasions I have tried to talk clients out of a more expensive vacation. Yes, that does mean I make less in commission, but I am much more concerned that you feel like you got your money worth. I would rather make less and have you trust me than make more and have you feel like you overspent.

5. I am a great sounding board! 

When you are planning your vacation, you are going to have LOTS of questions. Even seasoned Disney travelers have a lot of questions. I have opinions that I will freely offer! More than that, I try to tell you why I like something or why I think you would like something or not.

We live in a world where information is at our fingertips. If you search the web, you are sure to find a lot of message boards, blogs, and websites who claim to be Disney experts. This can be good, but it can also be dangerous. I have on more than one occasion seen inaccurate information floating around cyberspace. The safest bet is to ask someone who is trained by Disney. I am kept up-to-date on changes and refurbishments.

6. I will make your Advance Dining Reservations!

Disney lets resort guests make their dining reservations 180 days before check in. I get up early on your ADR day to make your reservations for you trying to secure your preferred reservations. This is very important for those hard to get locations. You do not want to wait even a few hours later or those choices can change.

7. I will help you plan an itinerary!

Just because you use a vacation planner does not mean that you give up all the planning and control of your vacation. When you get ready to start planning your days in the parks, I have access to crowd predictors and am able to help you plan each day. Some people want to hit every attraction in every park, some want to see every character, and others want to leisurely stroll while hitting the highlights. We can work together to make a plan to accommodate your family and their needs.

Using me, a Disney vacation planner, is NOT giving up control of your vacation. It is making sure that everything is covered. My promise to you is that I will strive to make your vacation as MAGICAL as possible. My personalized planning services will help you save time and money, plus get all of your questions answered – resulting in a better vacation experience for everyone! Any family can benefit from my expertise in Disney Destinations. Best of all, when you book your vacation with me, ALL of these planning services are FREE! I can book vacations to any Disney Destination including Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, or Adventures by Disney.

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 Jennifer Hart is a stay-at-home mom and wife who homeschools her three children, ages 12, 10 and 4, and works full time as a Disney vacation planner. The Harts love all things Disney and love to vacation during slower seasons. Learn more about her Disney vacation planning services on her website, by contacting her at jennifer@wishuponastarwithus.com or 270-293-1975, or on Facebook. She also blogs and can be found on Pinterest and Twitter.

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