Enchanted Memories Travel Michael Killion

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Enchanted Memories Travel Michael Killion

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18/09/2024

Wanting to book a last minute trip? Why not get a little something extra to book it!!! My agency has just announced a new promotion for any trips booked that travel in 2024! Reach out today with your last minute ideas and let’s get you into vacation mode!

23/08/2024

I recently had client return from a cruise aboard the brand new Icon of the Seas! This ship is gorgeous and huge! They said it was a great experience and the shows were amazing. There were 7000 people on board but it wasn’t that noticeably because of everything there was to do! Do you want to cruise on the largest cruise ship in the world?!

13/08/2024

Our last trip of the summer was a visit to Diggerland in New Jersey! Diggerland is a construction theme park where you can drive and operate all kinds of machinery. The kids loved it and I might have had too much fun too 🤣.

The remnants of Hurricane Debby were coming through our first day there. This kept the crowds away and we had basically an empty theme park and it didn’t rain until almost closing time! We were able to do all the rides one day and we spent the next day at the water park and doing some favorites again.

As I mentioned, you can operate all kinds of machinery at Diggerland. If you’re over 48 inches tall you can operate most everything by yourself. Kids between 36-48 inches tall can operate most everything with an adult. It was so much fun letting the kids try out new things and having the opportunity to operate machines they never would at home.

There is a water park here and it is a decent size. There’s a kids pool with all kinds of sprayers, a slide and dumping bucket. There’s a bigger pool with an obstacle course at one end. There are two slides, a wave pool and a small pool with a rope net to climb across.

If the kids get tired of playing on machines they can take a break at the playground or do the rock wall or ropes course. All of these are included with the price of admission. There is also a zip line, the Screaming Eagle, but that is an additional cost.

Overall Diggerland is an awesome theme park in a great location! You can do a day trip or make a weekend out of it like we did. The kids are already asking to go back!

06/08/2024

Our family had a nice weekend getaway to Williamstown, KY and Columbus, OH. Checked off two more states on our 50 states list! We saw the Ark Encounter, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Creation Museum in Kentucky and the COSI (Center of Science and Industry) Museum in Ohio.

First up Kentucky where we went to the Ark Encounter and walked through a life size replica of Noah’s Ark! They also had a small zoo and petting zoo on the grounds, along with a carousel, playground and virtual reality ride. Afterwards we went to the Buffalo Trace Distillery and sampled some Kentucky bourbon.

The next day we went to the Creation Museum and learned all about the book of Genesis from the Bible. We also got to go zip lining! They also had a playground here which was a real hit with the kids.

On our way home we decided to stop in Columbus, Ohio and check out the COSI Museum. The kids had an absolute blast here and I forgot to take pictures inside because of how much fun we were having. There was a playground outside here too and a splash pad in the entrance leading to the museum.

We stayed across the street at the beautiful Junto hotel. We had a 2 queen room with a beautiful view of the city and the COSI museum. I highly recommend this hotel if you’re ever in the Columbus area!

03/08/2024

After our magical time in Disneyland Paris we headed to the city of Paris to stay near and see the Eiffel Tower! We stayed at the Grand Hotel Leveque which was approximately a 20 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. It was a lovely hotel with the smallest elevator I’ve ever seen.

Our room had a queen bed with a queen sofa bed. It was already set up for us, which was really nice. Breakfast was included with our stay and we got to enjoy it the next morning.

We went and toured the Eiffel Tower the evening after we arrived. We climbed the stairs to the first level and enjoyed the views. My wife and daughter climbed up to the second floor while I stayed with our son on the first floor. It was awesome to see the views of Paris and to see where they were constructing buildings for the Olympics! The Olympic rings were mounted on the front of the Eiffel Tower which made for a great picture!

We had a great time in Paris and our daughter said it was one of the highlights because she’s always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower. Being able to fulfill that dream for her, helped make the trip that much more memorable for me.

01/08/2024

Disneyland Paris Part 2

As I stated in my last post, there are many of the same rides in Disneyland Paris that are also in the U.S. parks. These rides include Peter Pans Flight, It’s A Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain and others. Some have small name changes such as Haunted Manison being called Phantom Manor. Others have big changes like Big Thunder Mountain being on an island!

One thing Disneyland Paris does add are more play spaces for kids. There was a neat Pirates/Peter Pan play area in Adventureland and a cool Frontier play area in Frontierland. These are great spaces for kids to run around and burn off some energy. There was also Skull Rock in Adventureland and it had a bunch of caverns and tunnels to check out.

One ride I was dying to do was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril. The theming was awesome and I felt like I was on the set of a movie. The roller coaster itself was a lot of fun and included a big loop in it!

We did save one of the coolest experiences for last and that was the dragon underneath Sleeping Beauty’s castle! That’s right, underneath the castle you’ll find the dragons lair. Here you’ll see the dragon from Sleeping Beauty resting and then waking up. It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen on Disney property!

The last thing I want to mention is that on either side of Main Street USA you’ll find covered “side streets.” These are great for getting up and down Main Street faster or during the parades. We used these a couple of times and they were a big time saver!

31/07/2024

Disneyland Paris Part 1. I have so many pictures, I’ll have to do 2 parts for Disneyland Paris. To enter Disneyland Paris you have to walk under the Disneyland Hotel! When you walk in you feel like any of the US parks because it’s Main Street USA and the train station.

As you walk down Main Street you get a better view of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle! It is a gorgeous castle and just like in Disneyland you can walk through the upper part of it. They retell the story of Sleeping Beauty, there is some beautiful stained glass and you can even walk outside on the backside of the castle and see Fantasyland!

Disneyland Paris has all of the same lands as Disneyland and Disney World and it is laid out much like Disneyland in California. There are many of the same rides here too but some of them are different. For example Space Mountain here is Hyperspace Mountain and has a Star Wars theme too it. Many of the roller coasters here also have loops and corkscrews in them.

We watched the parade one afternoon which has awesome floats and many of the same characters as the other Disney parks. At night they do a drone show, Disney’s Electrical Sky Parade, ten minutes before the fireworks and it is an amazing show!!! The fireworks show is also awesome and not to be missed. I’ll post more on those another time.

Stay tuned for part 2!

30/07/2024

Disneyland Paris is broken up into two parks, Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland Paris itself. Both parks are within walking distance to each other which makes it very easy to park hop. It reminded me of Disneyland in California a lot.

Walt Disney Studios is a great park and they are doing lots of work to it and expanding it for future attractions. This is where we found Avengers Campus, Ratatouille, Toy Story Playland, Tower of Terror, Crush’s Coaster, Cars Road Trip and lots of shows! Some of the rides are the same or similar to the U.S parks but there are lots of cool rides that are only here.

First up is Avengers Flight Force in Avengers Campus. This roller coaster tries to mimic Cosmic Rewind but it’s not as smooth and has loops and corkscrews! I loved this ride but my daughter thought cosmic rewind is much better. Crush’s Coaster is a great roller coaster ride for kids and adults. You get to ride the EAC on a turtle shell and have an adventure with Crush and friends. The last one I really want to focus on is Cars Road Trip, a must for any Cars fan. They took the old backlot tour and rethemed it for Cars! When we went into catastrophe canyon and I saw the same setup as the backlot tour with the truck, explosions, shaking ground and water going everywhere, oh my little kid heart skipped a beat! I loved that ride as a kid and to see it redone for Cars and my son loving it made me so happy inside.

Aside from the rides, there are some amazing shows at Walt Disney Studios. We spent part of a day just going to the shows! They are in French and English based on times, we had to make sure we picked the right one so we could understand the dialogue! The first show, Together, was Pixar themed and had a small live orchestra to play the music! Mickey and the magician was amazing and there was even a show where you could talk to Stitch! It’s just like Turtle Talk with Crush in Epcot but with Stitch. It was so cool.

I could go on and on about Walt Disney Studios but I think the best thing is to experience it for yourself! It was a great park and I definitely want to go back once they’re done construction!

29/07/2024

After our relaxing days in Germany it was time to catch a train to our next destination, Disneyland Paris! This was our first international Disney destination and we were excited to experience Disney with some European flair.

We decided to stay on Disney property at the Hotel Santa Fe. This is a Cars themed hotel and they’ve done a great job of making it feel like it’s Radiator Springs. A word of caution, this hotel does not have A/C or a pool! Luckily it was cooler while we were there so opening a window at night and having a fan running was enough to cool us down.

Our room was awesome because they connected two rooms for us. We had adjoining rooms, each with a queen size bed and the one had a sleeper sofa. We also had two bathrooms, which was awesome. This worked out really well for our family and we could spread out to help stay cool.

Overall this hotel was great and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again. If you have a Cars loving family member and are going to Disneyland Paris, I definitely recommend it. Bonus is that it was only a 20 minute walk to the parks!

27/07/2024

It was time to say goodbye to the Odyssey of the Seas and head to our next destination, Germany!

We visited family friends in the town of Dalum, Germany. It is in the northwestern corner and is approximately 30 minutes or so from the Netherlands. We spent 4 days here relaxing, eating and drinking all our favorite German delicacies. It was a wonderful rest and one of our best trips to Germany.

We did take some time to visit a nearby zoo. The kids had an absolute blast and we saw lots of different animals! We got to feed and pet many of them, which the kids really enjoyed. If you’re ever in this area make sure to take some time and enjoy Tierpark Nordhorn.

24/07/2024

Our last night on the ship we had some time to spend in the adults only section, the Solarium. You have to be 18 or older to enter the Solarium. It’s located at the front of ship so you have a beautiful view of where you are going.

You can find a cafe and bar, so you can eat and drink in peace. There is plenty of seating throughout the solarium. There are several pools and hot tubs, most have a waterfall feature going from one to the other which is cool. On either end of the Solarium you can go out onto a glass balcony, reminded me of a wing, and have a beautiful view of where you’re going and where you’ve been.

The Solarium is all glass but it is climate controlled. It is a wonderful space to get away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the ship. I highly recommend going especially if you have kids so you can get a much deserved break!

22/07/2024

Our last port of call was Naples, Italy. We did a half day excursion to the ancient city of Pompeii! As a history buff this was my second favorite place to visit in Italy. Our excursion was about 4 hours, which was a great way to see a small portion of Pompeii.

If you know your history, you know that in 79 AD Mt. Vesuivus erupted and buried the city of Pompeii in volcanic ash and rock. This ash and rock is what kept it so well preserved that historians and archeologists are still learning about ancient Roman culture from it today. About 80% of Pompeii has been uncovered to this day.

Pompeii is so well preserved you can still see the cobblestone roads and the ruts from wagons going up and down them. There are paintings on the walls of houses that look new. The tile floors appear as if they were just laid. It was simply breathtaking to see how ancient Roman’s lived and how they decorated their homes.

We visited the amphitheater where gladiators used to fight and other sporting events occurred. Fun fact: Pink Floyd held a concert in the amphitheater at Pompeii! It has a very similar resemblance to the Colosseum in Rome.

After our visit to Pompeii we headed back to Naples where we walked past a castle in town and found a nice restaurant for some pizza. Naples is the birthplace of pizza so it was only natural we had some before boarding the ship!

21/07/2024

Our third port of call was supposed to be the island of Mykonos but high winds forced us to go to island of Crete instead.

We didn’t do any excursions on the island, instead we took a bus into town and went shopping. We saw the old market area that is currently under renovation and strolled up and down the many streets looking for the best souvenirs to bring home.

After we were done shopping we headed back to the bus stop and stopped at a local park along the way. Then it was back to the ship and enjoying some relaxation as we started back towards Italy.

19/07/2024

Our second port of call was Kusadasi, Turkey. This was our first time on the continent of Asia! Turkey is a beautiful country full of history and a vibrant culture.

We did a bus tour that allowed us to see many of the famous sites around the city of Ephesus which is approximately 20 minutes from the port of Kusadasi. Ephesus has moved locations throughout history and was once an important Greek/Roman port. We drove past the ancient city but did not have a chance to go into it. That will be on another trip!

We stopped at a Turkish Rug Maker to see the art of rug making. The process of making these beautiful rugs is very labor intensive and can take anywhere from months to years. It was very eye opening to see what all goes into the process.

Afterwards we drove around the city and saw various historical sites including a church dedicated to John the Baptist, an important mosque and the Temple of Artemis. Turkey was kind of a melting pot of religious history. There are Christian sites including ancient Ephesus and the Virgin Mary’s house where she passed away. There are also important Muslim sites including the mosque we went by.

I would definitely make a trip back to Turkey to explore more of the history, as I find it very interesting. Our tour guide did a great job of explaining the history and details of how Ephesus and Kusadasi have been shaped over time.

18/07/2024

Our first port of call was beautiful Santorini, Greece. The pictures do not do this Greek island justice, you have to see it in person! Santorini is a tender port, meaning our ship had to anchor in the water and there were boats sent to take us from the ship to the island.

We did a black sand beach excursion on the island. We got to relax and enjoy the beautiful water and admire the uncommon black sand. Black sand beaches are made from years of waves crashing onto volcanic rocks. Fun fact: the island of Santorini was made from a volcano, which is still considered active.

After the beach we were able to go to the town of Fira. We did some shopping and admired the amazing views from the town, which is perched on the top of the island. We then took the cable car down the mountain to board the tender boat to the cruise ship.

We will definitely be going back to Santorini! It’s more beautiful in person than the pictures you see. The people are very nice and friendly and we had great service everywhere we went. I highly recommend a visit.

12/07/2024

Our room onboard the Odyssesy of the Seas was a beautiful balcony room that had enough space to store all of our things. There was ample storage on either side of the bed and under the bed as well.

It had a queen bed and sofa bed that could be converted to a twin or full size bed. We primarily used the full size and our stateroom attendant switched it back to a sofa during the day.

Our balcony was big compared to other balcony rooms we’ve had. We also had the ability to connect it to the rooms next to us. Luckily we were sailing with friends who were next to us. It was any easy way to go back and forth and we had a huge space outside! We could hang out and have plenty of room.

We had some beautiful views from our balcony and I was able to take some beautiful pictures!Waking up in our new ports and being able to go outside to check it out is always a big plus for me.

Overall it was a great home for a week of travel and had plenty of space for a family of 4! I definitely recommend a balcony room for your next cruise.

09/07/2024

It was time to say good bye to Rome and hello to our home for the next week, Royal Caribbean’s beautiful Odyssey of the Seas! We were heading out on a 7 day Greek Isles cruise to Santorini, Turkey, Mykonos and Naples, Italy. This was our first ever cruise on Royal Caribbean and it did not disappoint!

Royal Caribbean markets itself as a family cruise line and they definitely lived up to that, in my opinion. The Splash Away Bay was a favorite for the kids. There were also 2 bigger pools and several hot tubs around the top deck that they loved. The ship also had the Northstar, Flowrider, Ripcord by iFly, a rock wall, bumper cars, laser tag, an arcade and of course the kids club, Adventure Ocean. There was always something to do!

The ship was beautifully decorated! Artwork on almost all the walls and some of it was interactive, which the kids loved. The theaters and entertainment venues were beautiful and spacious.

The main dining room was gorgeous and the food was delicious! We ate here almost every night and enjoyed the themed nights where we could dress to impress, be tropical or just be casual after a long time of excursions.

08/07/2024

Second full day in Rome part 2. In the afternoon we had a guided tour of the Colosseum. This was the highlight of Rome for me! I love history and have always dreamed of seeing the Colosseum in person. It’s as amazing as you think it is, I remember walking inside of it and saying “wow, this is incredible!”

We had another awesome tour guide who answered all our questions and gave us so many details about the Colosseum and the surrounding buildings. She was wonderful with the kids as well and kept them engaged while we marveled at our surroundings.

A fun fact she shared with us is that the Colosseum was open to everyone until about 20 years ago. You could just walk in and enjoy it. Of course people were taking advantage of that and stealing, littering and defacing it so they walled it off to help keep it as original as possible.

I highly recommend a guided tour of this amazing building. There is so much history here and it’s an engineering marvel for its time! You want someone to tell you that history and help you see what it was like during Ancient Rome.

06/07/2024

Our second full day in Rome Part 1. In the morning we toured the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica! We had a lovely tour guide who gave us a ton of information about the Vatican and the pieces of art throughout it. She was great with the kids and even had a scavenger hunt made up for them to look for various pieces of artwork.

Vatican City is in Rome but it is technically its own country. Our first stop was the Vatican Museums which house thousands of pieces of art work. There are statues, paintings, tapestries, mosaics and even paintings that look like mosaics. Much of the art work is thousands of years old but still looks amazing.

Next it was on to the Sistine Chapel where we saw the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures in here but we could marvel at the beauty of his work.

Our final stop was St Peter’s Basilica which is a massive church used in ceremonies by the Pope. St Peters square, just outside the Basilica, is where people gather to hear the Pope speak and is where the ceremonies take place when a new pope is elected.

It was amazing seeing the artifacts, artwork and buildings that are so important to the Catholic Church and Christianity as well. I highly recommend a guided tour if you find yourself near Vatican City.

04/07/2024

Our first full day in Rome we took the Hop On Hop Off bus tour around the city. The closest stop was about 10 minutes from our hotel, which was a nice walk taking in more of the city.

We went around the loop and saw the Colosseum, Constantine Arch, Palatine Hill, the new Italian government building and many other ruins. It was amazing to turn the corner of almost any street and see something from Ancient Rome. We got off the bus and walked to the beautiful Spanish Steps. From there it was another 10 minute walk back to our hotel.

Taking a bus tour of a city is a great way to get the lay of the land and help you plan out future days and what all you’ll want to see. We also like to use the Hop On Hop Off bus as a mode of transportation as it will take you to the majority of the biggest attractions.

02/07/2024

The first stop on our European Adventure was Rome, Italy. We stayed at the Hotel Fontana, which is directly in front of the Trevi Fountain! We were also in close proximity to the Spanish Steps and about a 20 minute walk to the Colosseum. It was a great location, nice room and interesting bathroom.

Our room had 2 queen beds, a sunken bathroom complete with bidet, and some nice Italian charm. It was on the top floor, hence the slanted ceiling. A perk of being on the top floor was being close to the breakfast on the rooftop terrace, which offered enclosed views of the Trevi Fountain with much less people 🤣.

The Trevi Fountain is a famous, can’t miss landmark in Rome. Legend has it if you throw a coin over your right shoulder into the fountain you’ll come back to Rome. If you do it twice, you’ll come back and find love. Do it a third time and you’ll come back and get married. The hotel kindly provided us coins to throw into the fountain. There’s also a spot where there are 2 streams of water crossing, if you and your significant other drink from them at the same time you’ll be together forever. We’ll see if there is any truth to them 😁.

Our hotel also had several streets with restaurants and shops nearby, making it easy to find food and souvenirs. We tried gelato multiple times and some good Italian food also. I would definitely recommend this location to anyone going to Rome.

01/07/2024

We’ve just returned from a 2 1/2 week trip to Europe and I have so much to share!!! We traveled by every mode of transportation; car, boat, plane and train while there.

Our European Adventure included 3 days in Rome, a week long Greek Isles cruise on Royal Caribbean, 4 days in Germany visiting family friends, 3 days in Disneyland Paris and finally Paris itself to see the Eiffel Tower!

I will be posting all about the trip over the next few weeks!

14/06/2024

The newest promotions from Sandals are out! These prices are 🔥🔥🔥! Reach out if you want a quote.

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This past weekend, we surprised our daughter with a birthday trip aboard the Disney Wish!!! The months of secrecy and planning were all worth it for this reaction! I will be posting more about our room and experiences we did this time around over the next few days.

St Marteen

Reminiscing about watching planes taking off in St. Marteen, 7 years ago! Watch til the end to see me getting blown backwards!

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Pictures aren’t the only things included with the memory maker. You’ll also get short videos with shots like this one, the super zoom magic shot at Magic Kingdom. We also received a video of our ride on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which no other ride does! I’ll post the other videos in the comments.

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