Travel with the Whitakers

Gone are the days of getting to the Disney parks at rope drop, and getting three, four, or even five rides in before the crowds arrive.  As part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration, guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort Hotels (and select other hotels), get 30 minutes of extra park time at all four parks, every single day. Does that 30 minutes really make a difference?! How It Works Each morning, guests stay at included hotels, will be allowed to enter a theme park of their choice (Park Pass Reservations are required) 30 minutes early. When you arrive at your chosen park you will go through security like normal, and then procede to the "turnstiles." On some occasions we have arrived at the park and there has been a few select turnstiles for Early Entry. This has mostly been the case at Epcot and Hollywood Studios.  At Epcot and Hollywood Studios , one guest from your party will need to scan their Magicband, ticket card, or phone to verify that you are a resort guest, an...

Three of the four of us have been on eight Disney Cruises since 2015. Bella has been on three. Each cruise we have taken has had a specific reason behind it! Today we share those reasons with you.  Sailed Disney Wonder - Alaska - August 2015: We booked our very first cruise for Alaska for two reasons. The reason, we really wanted to see Alaska, and we figured that a cruise would be the best way to experience for the first time. Second, we really wanted to try cruising. Since we really wanted to experience Alaska anyway, and because we were living in California at the time we decided that an Alaska cruise would be perfect for our first one. We couldn't think of a better cruise line to sail with for the first time than Disney, and we're so glad that we made the choice that we did.  Disney Magic - Bahamas - February 2016: We booked this one before we had even sailed on the Wonder for the first time! Somehow, we knew that we were going to love cruising. We also we able to get a r...

Another year has come to an end. It has been a year of ups and downs for everyone, I'm sure. As 2021 moved on, the world of travel saw progress, and that includes Disney (Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and the non-U.S. Disney Parks.) So, before we look ahead to the year to come, let's take a look back at the world of Disney in 2021.  Disneyland Paris  Reopened following closure for covid-19. Hong Kong Disneyland Celebrated its 16th Anniversary!  Shanghai Disney Resort Celebrated its 5th Anniversary!  Disneyland  Reopened after extended covid-19 closure.  Disney Genie and Genie+ came to Disneyland.  Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise ships returned to sailing with passengers in the summer! Walt Disney World All of the remaining Resort Hotels, except All-Star Sports, reopened this year!  The 50th Anniversary Celebration began October 1.  KiteTails came to Animal Kingdom.  The new section of the France Pavilion, including Remy'...

This year has been a bit of a bounce-back year for travel. We all know that 2020 was not what anyone had hoped for - and for the world of travel it was a major bummer.  We did do a little traveling last year, but this year was a really good year for traveling for the Whitaker family.  Our first big trip of the year came in May, we moved from Texas to South Carolina. Along the way we made stops in Shreveport, Louisiana and Birningham, Alabama.  We've also taken four road trips to Pittsburgh since we moved. It's been great to be close enough to be able to drive to see family in only one day instead of three. During our trips we stopped at the New River Gorge Bridge three times.  The kids got to visit Chimney Rock in North Carolina with my parents in July!  We've also been lucky enough to be so close to Disney World! In June we took our first family trip to Disney World since before covid. The kids and I went to experience the Epcot International Food and Wine Fest...

The Holidays are in full swing at Walt Disney World! All four parks are decorated, and have a sense of holiday spirit in the air. We experienced this at the beginning of November when we visited the parks, but there was one park that wasn’t quite ready for the holidays then. That park was Epcot. That’s not the case anymore, though. November 26 the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays began, and now Epcot is a park wide celebration of the holidays. Like the name says, Festival of the Holidays is a celebration of holidays from around the world. Each of Epcot’s pavilions are decorated in a way that represents how that nation celebrates their winter holidays. Each pavilion also has storytellers that share about the history and traditions of their holiday. Just like at all of the Epcot’s festivals, there are festival kitchens. This time they have dishes and drinks from holiday celebrations! To stick with the holiday theme, the festival has the Festival of the Holidays Cookie Str...

Sorry for not posting for a couple of weeks! Things were a little crazy for a bit. After two years, covid finally found a member of our household, so we had that to deal with. After that, we were out of town for our first Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh. Well, it was the first Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh for Howard and the kids, and my first Thanksgiving back there since 2008. I finally have a new post for you, though! And it’s all about Disney World Annual Passes. For a year or two before we moved, we talked about how if we ended up being somewhere that was close enough to Disney, we would get annual passes. When we found out we were moving to South Carolina, only six hours from Disney, we said that as soon as annual passes sales resumed, we’d be getting them. At the end of August, Disney World finally announced that annual passes were coming back, and even though Howard was deployed, we purchased annual passes on the first day that they were available for purchase again.* How has b...

It has been almost two years since the last time we set foot on a Disney Cruise ship, and the next time we do sail, things will be a lot different. So, what will be different on our next Disney Cruise? The kids don’t know yet. We have a cruise booked for a few months from now, and for the first time ever, the kids were not part of the planning and booking process. I’m excited to tell them, and see their reaction when we do. Vaccine requirements . Covid vaccine requirements are popping up all over the place, and the cruise world is definitely one place where they are required for everyone that is old enough to get them. At this point, that means that everyone 5 and older will need to be fully vaccinated for sailings starting on January 13, 2022. Covid testing. Prior to sailing, those that are not old enough to have received the vaccine are required to be tested 1-3 days prior to arriving at their departure port. Once at the port, before being allowed to board the ship, EVERYONE ...