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Magical Vacation Planner - Molly, Petal, MS (2025)

01/23/2025

I have been talking a lot about Disney after my last trip, but a lot of things are happening in Universal FLorida this year that can not be missed! This is the year of Epic Universe and the opening of THREE brand new resorts.

Universal’s Stella Nova Resort is the first to open and I’m weighing the pros and cons for your next trip!

PROS👍🏻
💫 COST- This is a Prime Value Resort stay beginning at $189 per night. The Prime Value tier is somewhere between a Disney Moderate and Value Resort. You can not beat under $200 for a resort with so many fantastic amenities.

💫 LOCATION- This is going to be one of the closest resorts to the brand new theme park. While Grand Helios sits inside Epic Universe, Stella Nova and Terra Luna will both be walking distance to the front portal.

💫 AMENITIES- There are many perks to a Universal Resorts including the pool, fitness center, and in lobby lounges. Also, the bus system at Universal runs often. Just like the other Universal Resorts, guests can board the buses for FREE to the other parks. There will be buses taking guests to CityWalk, Volcano Bay, and Epic Universe for those who can not or do not wish to walk.

CONS👎🏻
💫PARKING- It is $30 a day to park at this resort. It’s even more if you’re not a guest. That is insane daily charges, but is it worth it with all the benefits you will get from staying here?

💫PERKS- Although you DO get one hour of early admission into the theme parks, you do not get access to Free Express Pass. Yes, some of Universal’s Resorts include Express Pass. Typically, those within walking distance.

💫LOCATION- Yes, while location is also a perk, this could also be a downfall to staying at this resort. With it being further away from CityWalk and the other parks, on busy days, I am not sure how long it might take for guests to arrive.

With all of that said, I can not wait to stay at this resort. It is unique to its theming and there is the opportunity for a theme park view of Epic Universe🤌🏻

Would you stay at Stella Nova?

01/20/2025

Festival of the Arts 🎨

This is one of EPCOT’s shorter festivals, but don’t miss it! If I could make this one happen every year, I would. I experienced FARTS (I know 😂) for the first time a couple years ago and have been dying to go back ever since. Some say all the festivals are the same, however, they all offer very different things.

Don’t miss:
🎨Chalk Art
🎨Paint by Numbers
🎨Life Size Recreations
🎨Disney Artists
🎨Disney on Broadway
🎨Chalk Full of Characters

With the opening of this years festival comes the grand opening of Once Upon a Stage: 30 Years of Disney. This new exhibit is found in CommuniCore Hall and celebrates three decades of Disney’s presence on Broadway. Guests can find an immersive experience for fans of theater and Disney storytelling. The exhibit showcases the creative process, offering a look at the design and craftsmanship that brought Disney’s stories to life in live theater. Find a collection of costumes, props, and behind-the-scenes displays from Disney stage productions. My Broadway heart is so sad to miss this!!!

What is your favorite part of this festival? Mine is in the comments!

👉🏻shoutout to my Jan clients and Florida friends for sharing photos from this years fest!

01/19/2025

Four Park Challenge: Park 4

Twelve hours in! From EPCOT we took the monorail to our last park, Magic Kingdom. These parks connect by monorail and provide the quickest transportation between the two. We arrived just in time for the holiday fireworks and, Emma’s favorite, corndog nuggets.

🎄Holiday offering:
Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks is part of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, but shows nightly after the last party. This show features holiday projections on Cinderella Castle and festive music we all know and love. During the party, we actually opted to skip them to meet Jack and Sally and Holiday Mickey while the crowds were on Main Street. It was a good move because we were able to catch the show here two nights later!

🤍Characters:
Immediately after fireworks, we walked into Mickey’s Town Square Theatre to meet the Mouse himself. This is always a good hack because people tend to leave after fireworks! This seemed like a no brainier. Mickey is my favorite Meet and Greet of all and it felt important to tell him all about our Four Park Challenge.

🍽️Dining:
After completing our challenge, we went to Main Street Bakery to customize popcorn. Did you know you could do this? You choose one type of popcorn, three toppings, and a syrup of some sort. It made for the perfect snack on the bus back to the resort and the car ride home the next day!

🎢Attractions:
Under the Sea - LL (opted out)
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin - LL (opted out)
Tomorrowland Speedway - 5 min
TRON Lightcycle 8:30pm Single - 5 min

Just like before, after we scanned into each of our attractions in EPCOT, I would make a Lightning Lane for the next park. We were able to walk onto both TRON (our second Single Pass) and Tomorrowland Speedway with no wait.

We could have easily ridden our other two Lightning Lanes, but we were exhausted and opted to skip them. We were on day three of our trip and hour 14 of the day. You have to listen to your body. Instead, we watched Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration at the castle for the perfect finale to our trip.

WE DID IT!

👉🏻If you missed the other three park, go back to see what all we did!

01/16/2025

Four Park Challenge: Park 3

From Hollywood Studios, we took the Skyliner to EPCOT. It’s a quick 10-15 minute fly in the sky, one way. Guests hop off at the hub (Caribbean Beach) and board the other gondola, arriving at the other park in no time at all.

🤍Characters:
As we arrived at the International Gateway in the World Showcase, Daisy greeted us for the perfect entrance into EPCOT. She and Emma gabbed about jewelry and all the girly things before we headed straight to France.

🍽️Dining:
L’Artisan des Glaces is a hot spot for my crew. We love an authentic flavored ice cream cone, but this day, we had the seasonal macaroon. The ice cream was mint based, but tasted less like the candy and more like the herb. It was everything I never knew I needed. The cookies did dye my fingers and mouth which I don’t love, but it’s a sacrifice I would make again.

🎄Holiday offering:
CommuniCore Hall is the neeest building to grace EPCOT. I haven’t quite figured it out yet. There are a couple of festival booths inside and the big Mickey and friends Meet and Greet that once was, but we stopped by specifically for the Spaceship Earth Gingerbread. I love a moment for the gingerbread!

🎢Attractions:
Soarin’ Around the World - 5 min
Living with the Land - 5 min
Spaceship Earth - LL (opted out)
Guardians 5:10pm Single - 5 min

After we scanned into each of our attractions in Studios, I would make a Lightning Lane for our time in EPCOT. I knew the time frame I expected us to be there, and if we weren’t at the attraction just yet, I would push our time back to a later ride window. I also discovered that we could go beyond the 15 minute grace period for our attractions!

We were able to walk into all three Soarin’, Living with the Land, and Guardians of the Galaxy, our first Single Pass for the day. In full transparency, we could have ridden Spaceship Earth as a walk on, but we were “behind” my schedule and we were beginning to feel the steps. Instead, we opted to skip and head to the monorail for our last park of the day!

EPCOT ➡️ Magic Kingdom

01/13/2025

Four Park Challenge: Park 2

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the only park without connecting transportation to the other parks. MK and EPCOT share the monorail and EPCOT and Studios share the Skyliner. Yes, I could have waited for a bus, but I needed a faster option.

Disney has a partnership with Lyft where guests can take a Minnie Van straight to the front of the parks. This is a pricier option, but the best when needing the quickest form of transportation. We were at Hollywood Studios and inside the park within 20 minutes. You can not beat it!

🤍Characters:
The quickest place to visit characters in Studios is, undoubtedly, Pixar Place. Joy, Sully, Mr and Mrs Incredible, Frozone, and Edna Mode all reside here. Chances are, you can stop by Pixar Place at any given time of the day and have a fairly low wait for one of the above. We walked right in to meet the fashion icon herself during the busiest time of day!

🎄Holiday offering:
During the holidays, Frozen Singalong gets a Holiday overlay. It includes the best from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure and the historians have a new holiday spin to their jokes. It’s truly one of my favorite shows on property. IMO it’s so underrated.

🍽️Dining:
We opted for Woody’s Lunchbox for lunch. Not much can beat that Three Cheese Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup! Pro tip: mobile order this one early in the day! This place is wildly crowded. I think we actually waited for this mobile order longer than any attraction here.

🎢Attractions:
Tower of Terror - 5 min
Toy Story Mania - 5 min
Slinky Dog Dash - 5 min
Muppet Vision 3D - 5 min

We walked on to all four attractions, three of them, the best in the park. Knowing this park has the most heavy hitters, I planned all my three first Lightning Lanes to be in Studios. Muppet Vision is not typically a wait, therefore I knew it would be a good choice for that fourth attraction. Yes, shows are attractions and yes, we could have counted Frozen Singalong as our fourth, but I wanted to see Muppets before it leaves us.

If you missed the previous park, go back and check it out! We rope dropped DAK and did everything we had on our list!

Hollywood Studios ➡️ EPCOT

01/12/2025

DinoLand USA begins deconstruction tomorrow 😢

This last trip was special because we visited DinoLand knowing it was the last time we would see part of it. While Dinosaur is still open, Chester and Hester’s souvenir shop, TriceraTop Spin, and the Fossil Fun Games will officially close for good. This marks the end of an era for these DinoLand favorites.

We talked with Chip and Dale about the changes on our last visit and let’s say, they did not take it well. Dale said he was chaining himself to the place and never leaving and Chip hit the ground with grief. I stand with the chaos twins! We will miss this quirky place!

Guests can experience Dinosaur the attraction for now. Follow for theme park updates, tips, and tricks!

01/10/2025

Four Park Challenge: Park 1

My goal for the four park challenge was to include a few of our favorite things and showcase some underrated parts of the parks. I had a lot to do and only 15 hours to make it happen.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the first park to open each day. I knew with extra magic hours, we would be able to get into DAK at 7:30, if not before. In actuality, we were in line for Flight of Passage before 7:30.

🤍Characters:
I highlighted parts of DinoLand USA that will be extinct sooner than later, including the Chip and Dale Meet & Greet with them in their dinosaur costumes. That was a whole thing!

🎄Holiday offering:
The Merry Menagerie is a must do if you are in WDW during the Holiday season. They legit make me tear up every year.

🍽️Dining:
Kusafari’s Bakery is a hidden gem in Africa. The bread is fresh and everything I have had from there is good.

🎢Attractions:
Flight of Passage - 25 min
Kilimanjaro Safari - 5 min
Expedition Everest - 10 min
Dinosaur - 5 min

The four attractions we hit easily without waiting longer than 25 min. I know 7:30 is early to be in a theme park, but you cannot beat those wait times!

I intentionally did not hold any Lightning Lanes for DAK because I knew that we could knock them out before we needed to leave. I spaced each park out to where we had 3 to 3 1/2 hours in each park. We were able to do everything planned in exactly 3 1/2 hours.

DAK ➡️ Hollywood Studios

01/10/2025

My girl and I had BIG expectations on our last trip to Walt Disney World:

-15 hours
- 4 attractions per park
- 4 meet & greets
- 4 holiday offerings
- 4 dining options

Did we make it? 29,132 steps later🙃

🤍 Follow along to see!

01/06/2025

Is the Dining Plan worth it? These are the top 5 questions I am receiving about the Disney Dining Plan👇🏻

1- How can I keep track of my dining credits? You can view your remaining meal and snack credits in your MDE app, by checking your receipt for a physical total, and you can ask your front desk at your resort. Keep in mind, unused meals and snacks DO roll over day to day! However, credits do not roll over to the next trip. Meal credits will expire at midnight the day you check out!

2- Is alcohol included with the dining plan? Meals include beverages and, yes, guests 21 and older may choose an alcoholic beverage as part of their meal.

3- What isn’t included in my dining plan? Bulk items such as popcorn buckets, souvenir containers, or glow cubes are not included. Gratuity is also not considered in your dining plan. Make sure to carry some cash for your servers!

4- Do all meals count as 1 dining credit? Unfortunately, no. All Princess dining - Cinderella’s Royal Table, Storybook Dining at Akershus, and Story Book Dining with Snow White - will cost you 2 credits, per person.

5- Can I use my dining plan at an EPCOT festival? Yes, guests can use snack credits for festival booths! Not only could you use 1 snack credit for a festival item, you can also use 1 quick service credit for three festival snacks. Have your TA help you pre-plan!

👉🏻 Guests traveling this Summer to Walt Disney World can experience a FREE dining plan. Ask me how!

01/06/2025

This teacher goes back to school tomorrow. While I’m preparing to look ahead, here is a beautiful farewell to the sweetest Disney Holiday and most wonderful trip with my girl! Side note- my boys were with their dad in Kansas City. No child was left behind in the making of memories. 😊

🎄Grand Floridian’s Gingerbread House
🎄Hollywood Studios at Christmas
🎄Mickey Gingerbread Cookie
🎄Living with the Land Glimmering Greenhouse
🎄L’Artisian des Glaces Seasonal Macaroon
🎄EPCOT’s Gingerbread Spaceship Earth
🎄Festival of the Holiday’s Cookie Stroll
🎄The Jingle Cruise
🎄Pierre Noel
🎄A Frozen Holiday Surprise
🎄Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
🎄Holiday Layovers
🎄Muppet Courtyard
🎄Boba in Japan
🎄Polynesian Christmas Cupcake
🎄Polar Bears at MVMCP
🎄Four Park Challenge

01/05/2025

Just two gals gabbing about girly things 🎀💝

01/03/2025

MAJOR CHANGES COMING TO WDW IN 2025:

🦕 Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama, Fossil Fun Games, and TriceraTop Spin will close forever on January 13, 2025 to make way for Animal Kingdom’s newest expansion: Tropical Americas.

😈 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will temporarily close for a lengthy refurb on January 6, 2025. Disney says it will not reopen until 2026. I am guessing this is to keep guests from seeing what is to come, but Disney also says to expect “new magic” on the wildest ride in the wilderness.

🏴‍☠️ A brand new tavern for all ages is set to avast this Summer in the Magic Kingdom! A new Pirates of the Caribbean Lounge is underway and set to open this year!

🎸 Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster is getting an overhaul! The coaster will no longer star Aerosmith. Instead, the Muppets will be taking a super-stretch limo to the other side of the park to take over the indoor coasters. 2025 may be your last time to snag those backstage passes.

🐷 Muppet Courtyard is permanently closing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to make room for Monster’s Incorporated. This includes Muppet Vision 3D, Mama Melrose, and PizzeRizzo. A timeline has not yet been announced for Muppet Courtyard.

🧜🏼‍♀️ The updated version of the previous theatrical production, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, is set to open this Summer! Disney has promised new songs, new puppets, and new magic!

💦 Guests staying at a Disney resort hotel can also enjoy admission to one of Disney’s water parks on their check in day INCLUDED with their stay! That means you will have the opportunity to enjoy Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach FOR FREE!

🌺 The new Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Resort is available for booking. If staying this year is not in your future, I definitely recommend popping over for a bite to eat at the new Wailulu Bar and Grill or for a peaceful break from your park day. This new addition is beautiful!

🍽️ Disney just announced that they are bringing back the FREE Disney Dining Plan! This offer is available from January 2 to February 10 for select dates this Summer!

Walt Disney World has so many changes coming this year! What are you most excited to see?

01/02/2025

POV you just learned how to have free dining on your next trip to Walt Disney World…

Here’s what you need to know:
👉🏻 Available for booking beginning tomorrow January 2, 2025.

👉🏻 This offer is available until February 10 with the purchase of a non-discounted 3-night, 3-day minimum package with room at select Disney resorts and Park Hopper tickets.

👉🏻 This offer is available for most arrivals starting May 27 through June 26, and July 7 through August 6, 2025.

Do you want to guarantee this incredible offer for your next trip? It’s only $200 to secure the promo and reserve a reservation. Comment “DDP” and I’ll DM you today!

01/01/2025

Happy New Year!

2024 Wrapped:
• 218 family members
• 66 trips booked
• 5 magical locations
• 3 personal trips
• 1 Magical Vacation Planner

This year I booked Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney’s Aulani, Disney Cruise Line, and Universal Studios Florida. I booked my first VIP experience and witnessed the end of Genie+ and the birth of Lightning Lane Multi and Single Pass. I watched Disney Cruise Line launch a brand new ship and Universal Florida as they prepare for a brand new park. This year, dare I say, is going to be EPIC!

I know I only get to do what I do because of my wonderful clients. I am always so thankful as I reminisce on all of your trips. I am humbled every year that I am able to play a small role in all of your magical vacations. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

When you book a trip with me, you will receive around the clock assistance in addition to reserving your Dining, Enchanting Extras, Multi and Single Pass Lightning Lanes, Excursions, and assisting with all your planning needs. If you didn’t know, my services are completely FREE!

2025, I am ready for you!

12/30/2024

THE FREE DISNEY DINING PLAN IS BACK!!!🚨🚨

This is not a drill! Disney just announced that they are bringing back the FREE Disney Dining Plan! This has not been available in the same capacity since before the 2020 closures. Five years later and it’s BACK!

Here’s what you need to know:
👉🏻 Available for booking beginning January 2

👉🏻 This offer is available from January 2 to February 10 with the purchase of a non-discounted 3-night, 3-day minimum package with room at select Disney resorts and Park Hopper tickets.

👉🏻 This offer is available for most arrivals starting May 27 through June 26, and July 7 through August 6, 2025.

A FREE Disney Dining Plan is one way you could actually SAVE money in Disney World! Don’t miss this one, y’all — set those alarms for January 2nd!

Do you want to guarantee this incredible offer for your next trip? It’s only $200 to secure the promo and reserve a reservation. Comment “DDP” and I’ll DM you today!

12/30/2024

Everything I ate at Festival of the Holidays:

🍪Cinnamon-spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookie- This was located at Nochebuena Cocina for $3.25. It was a soft chocolate based cookie with a cinnamon spiced glaze. It was good, but not as much flavor as other cookies we had. 4/10⭐️

🫔 Chorizo Tamal with Cotija and Spicy Red Chile Sauce- This was also found at Nochebuena Cocina for $5.50. This plant based option was the best thing I ate all day long. Never have I ever gone back for seconds at a festival booth until now. 11/10⭐️

🍊 Ponche Navideño- This booth was a banger. This was also found at Nochebuena Cocina for $4.00. This Christmas punch was made with apple, pears, guava, oranges, dried hibiscus, brown sugar, tamarind, cinnamon sticks, and cloves served warm. 10/10⭐️

🍪Coffee Mocha Cookie- This cookie was found at Mele Kalikimaka. This was a soft mocha cookie with coffee-infused buttercream, and chocolate-covered espresso beans for $3.25. This was delicious! Neither of us are big on strong coffee flavor. 8/10⭐️

🐷 Kālua Pork with Okinawa sweet potatoes and mango salad- This was also found at Mele Kalikimaka for $6.00. This was so, so good. We weren’t huge fans of the purple sweet potatoes, but the rest of the dish was great. It was very reminiscent of the pork sliders during F&W. 7/10⭐️

🍪Peppermint Pinwheel- This is the first thing we had inside the World Showcase. Canada delivered this delicious cookie for $3.25. Even though this cookie did not have chocolate, it was giving Thin Mints. 7/10⭐️

🐮 Beef Bourguignon with crushed potatoes- Canada also gave us this stick to your bones dish for $7.00. It was so good on the cold day we had it, but I can not imagine eating it in the heat. 5/10⭐️

🍪Black and White Cookie- We found this plant based option at L’Chaim for $3.25. I had other plant based options that day that were delicious (still singing that tamale’s praises), but this was not good. 0/10⭐️

🍪Hazelnut Linzer Cookie- This was the last and best cookie we had on the cookie stroll. We found it in Germany for $3.25. The soft cookie was made with almond flour dough, jam filling, and a signature cut-out that creates a stained-glass window effect. 10/10⭐️

12/28/2024

Walt Disney World has these Christmas offerings until the New Year!

🎄 Entertainment from MVMCP- Beginning after the last Christmas party, Magic Kingdom day guests can experience Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration, and Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks on their park day. These are available until January.

🎄The Merry Menagerie- Disney’s Animal Kingdom has arctic sculpted puppets in Discovery Island from 9:45am to 5:00pm during the Christmas season. These will be available for visiting until December 31st.

🎄 The Festival of the Holidays- EPCOT’s shortest festival begins early November and goes until the last day of December. Guests can experience festival booths, the cookie stroll, and Santa Claus from different cultures around the World Showcase.

🎄Holiday layovers- There are a few different attractions that receive a Holiday layover during the season. While some are only available during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, there are a few available to day guests until January.

Other Holiday offerings available:
-The Gingerbread Crawl
-The Christmas Tree Stroll
-Holidays on Sunset Boulevard
And more

👉🏻 Experience the most magical time of the year at Walt Disney World! Comment below to begin planning your Christmas in 2025!

📸:

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas, friends! 🎄

To all who celebrate, may your day be filled with love and warmth. To those struggling through this holiday, know you are seen, loved, and not alone. To my friends who are traveling, be safe and have the most magical time!

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”

Magical Vacation Planner - Molly

01/23/2025

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