Travel with the Whitakers

  Somehow 2020 is about to end. Parts of this year seemed like they went so slow – I’m looking at you March and April – and then other parts of the year sped by before we knew what was happening. The last couple of months have gone by super fast, and it has brought us to Christmas. There are a lot of mixed emotions out there about holiday traditions – some people love them, and some people hate them because they feel like they’re being forced to do something by people that aren’t alive anymore. As a family we have created our own holiday traditions over the years, and today we’re going to share them with you.   Decorating for Christmas – We have two outdoor decorations, one inflatable and a Star Shooter light projector. We normally put these up the first weekend in December. Indoor Decorations – We normally get our tree and decorate it and the inside of the house with simple decorations two weeks before Christmas. Christmas Cookies – I love to make some sort of cookie with t

If you know us, or have read posts from us before, you know that we love Disney food! For months before a trip to Disney World we plan where we’re going to eat (gotta get those ADRs!), and then when the trips get closer, we start looking at menus and thinking about what we might like to eat. We even think about what snacks we might want to get so that we maximize our snack credits when we use the Disney Dining Plan.  So, last year when it was announced that Regal Eagle Smokehouse was going to open in the American Adventure Pavilion, we were excited. We love Epcot – the rides, World Showcase, and of course getting to enjoy food from around the world. A new quick service restaurant would give us something new to love about the park as well!  When we took our trip last February, we only had one day to spend at the parks, so we only went to Hollywood Studios to visit Galaxy’s Edge. On my latest trip in October, though, I spent a day at Epcot and got to eat at Regal Eagle! Here are my thoug

 All four of us have been taking trips, at least short trips (camping/ trips to see family, etc.) for most of our lives. We’ve been to quite a few places, gotten to take quite a few trips, and we are so thankful for all of our amazing experiences. Today we have for you some of our favorite travel memories. Bella Meeting Mickey and Minnie. Eating Mickey bars (on cruises.) Playing with Scarlett (during our trip to Pittsburgh). Sliding on the Slinky Slide (on the Disney Wonder.) Christian Swimming at the good internet hotel. (In Dallas) Building a droid (at Galaxy’s Edge.) Sledding at Grandma’s! Playing at Grandpa’s treehouse! Playing Disney Infinity on the Disney Dream. Riding Test Track for the first time! Riding the AquaDuck! Howard Our entire Alaska cruise. Visiting Castaway Cay. Visiting Heidelberg.  Taking both road trips to and from Pittsburgh. Miriya Camping in Gettysburg My first trip to Disney World when I was 12.  Spending two weeks in Scotland!  Walking through the river in No

 Looking back, 2020 has been a strange year for the whole world. It has impacted every single person – the closures, lockdowns, that time where the grocery store shelves were practically empty – it has also greatly impacted travel. I don’t need to tell you – for a long time no one could really travel anywhere. Some avenues of travel are back open, but we still have a long way to go before we can travel like we did before March 2020.  So, what are our thoughts about 2020 travel here at Travel with the Whitakers?! Well, we have a lot of thoughts. First, I’ll get the bad out of the way. Business wise, it has been rough. I won’t go into detail on that, but I’m sure that you understand.  Now for the part where we’re thankful. We are so thankful that our cruises at the beginning of the year took place when they did. We sailed from Port Canaveral at the very end of January, and from New Orleans at the beginning of February. We got to experience two amazing Disney ships and ten nights of magic