Travel Grown Adventure Planner specializing in Disney, Universal Studios, and cruise vacations!
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Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for August 26 - September 1
🚢 Disney Destiny Maiden Voyage and Itineraries
🌺 Isabela and Luisa Madrigal Join Miracle at Disneyland
🎄Holiday Season at Disneyland: November 5, 2024 Through January 6, 2025
🛍️ Coming to Downtown Disney
🌙 2025 Disney After Hours Dates Revealed
Heading back to Disneyland on Monday! I will be running all 3 races for the runDisney Halloween weekend. This means I will have a perfect Disneyland 2024 race season (not as impressive as a Disney World perfect season but I will take it).
I also get to go to my first Oogie Boogie Bash! It isn’t often I get to do something new at Disney so I am excited!
We will also be staying at Pixar Place Hotel over race weekend!
So much to be excited for and I will take you along in stories and posts.
Happy National Dog Day!
Life is so much better with dogs. Make sure to give Pluto a huge hug next time you see him.
Weekly updates are back! Summer plans and client trips kept me busy but they are back!
Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for August 19-25
🏰 Disneyland 2025 Packages Available Now!
🍽️ Universal Studios Orlando Dining Card Discount
🏨 Universal Helios Grand Hotel
⭐️ Universal Fan Fast Nights Starting at Universal Hollywood in 2025
🪇 Celebrate Hispanic & Latin American Heritage Month at Disney World
💦 New Features Revealed For Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas
🚢 New Details about the new DCL SHIP Adventure coming in 2025
Happy World Photography Day!
Which means it is the perfect day to celebrate the amazing memories that Disney PhotoPass photographers capture.
These photographs capture character interactions, ride moments, group celebrations, running fun, and so much more. Here are just a few of my favorites including
- My 2 year old niece with her hands up on Slinky Dog
- Crazy race outfits
- My niece bopping Elsa’s nose
- Group photos of so many amazing people I have brought to Disney in the last few years
- Celebrating D***y
Thank you for capturing so many incredible moments.
Interested in going to Universal Studios Orlando? Now is a great time to reach out and learn about the new dining card deal.
Happy National Roller Coaster Day!
These are some of my favorite coasters found in Orlando at Disney and Universal. I still have to get to Sea World to try their coasters.
What is your favorite?
Disneyland Paris and other international parks jumped into the fun too.
Reminder, I can help you plan your Disneyland Paris vacation.
🦁 Lion king flume ride coming to Disney Adventure World in Paris
❄️ World of frozen coming to Disney Adventure World in Paris in 2026
💦 Adventure Bay will be a new lake in Disney Adventure World in Paris that will host a nighttime show with water projections
🎆 Disneyland Paris getting new nighttime spectacular
🎇 Reach for the Stars debuts at Tokyo Disneyland on September 20th
🕷Spider-Man roller coaster attraction coming to Shanghai Disney
🕸️ Hong Kong also getting a new Spider-Man attraction
Disney Cruise Line provided the huge news about the fleet rapidly growing to 14 ships by 2031.
🚢 Disney Cruise Line will add 4 NEW CRUISE SHIPS to its fleet between 2027 and 2031!
⚡️ The new stage show “Disney Hercules” is coming to the Disney Destiny when it sets sail in 2025!
🌊 SNEAK PEEK at the new “Disney The Tale of Moana” stage production coming to the Disney Treasure this December!
Next up is some exciting news about attractions coming to Disneyland parks! So much to look forward to.
💥 Avengers Campus at Disneyland will double in size with TWO brand new attractions: Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab
⚜️ Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens at Disneyland on November 15
🎸 The first-ever attraction themed to “Coco” is coming to Disney California Adventure
🌊 Journey further in the world of Pandora at Disney California Adventure!
⭐️ The first-ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic is coming to Disneyland! “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” will debut in 2025 inside the Main Street Opera House in rotation with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.”
💫 New Mandalorian & Grogo adventure coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Star Wars: Galaxay’s Edge
Life has been a little crazy lately but I didn’t want to miss all of the D23 park news. Disney World is getting so many fun things in the next few years and they stressed these are not “blue sky” but actual plans breaking ground soon. Which are you most excited about?
🏰 Villains-inspired land coming to Magic Kingdom
💡 New nighttime parade coming to Magic Kingdom
💫 New Mandalorian & Grogo adventure coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Star Wars: Galaxay’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
🚪 New Monsters, Inc.-inspired land and coaster coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
🚗 Two Cars-inspired attractions coming to Frontierland in Magic Kingdom
🌐 Spaceship Earth lounge coming to EPCOT
🏴☠️ Pirates-inspired lounge coming to Magic Kingdom
🌴 Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom construction begins this fall
🐍 All-new Indiana Jones attraction coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom
🏠 Encanto attraction coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Last round of Pixar Fest fun (for now). If you can’t tell, I loved it! Pixar movies are amazing and Pixar Fest brings out the best of them.
I thought Disneyland did an amazing job having unique characters out for meet and greets with fun backgrounds, an amazing parade, and fun dance party.
I already can’t wait to go back next year!
D***y training officially started today! I still can’t quite believe I am going for my third D***y. Plus I am running Chicago marathon in October so I have a lot of running in my future.
I will never say “never” especially when it comes to Disney since here I go again 🤪
Can’t wait to run it with my friends and have another epic weekend in January.
Want to know more about racing Disney? Comment with any questions and/or pull up my blog post linked in my profile.
Can you believe we are halfway to the holidays? Crazy how time flies.
That means it is the perfect time to plan your holiday vacation. We have dates for Jollywood and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party plus tons of other holiday festivities. I was there for Christmas last year and loved everything.
Ready to start planning?
Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for May 20 - June 2
🎟️ New Universal Studios Orlando Ticket Discount
🎇 Fantasmic! is Back at Disneyland
🏰 Disneyland Summer Discounts Now Available
🐾 Talking Dug Debuts at Animal Kingdom
🏃🏽Themes Announced for 2025 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend
For all of my Royal Caribbean or Celebrity cruise line fans, you have matching status between these cruise lines now! This means more ships to be explore and still great loyalty perks.
It's a match! 🤝 Our loyalty program is now bigger and better than ever with perks that bring Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea together in new ways. With 50+ ships to choose from and 1,000 destinations to visit, your vacations are about to take you even further. Tap the link to find out more. 🔗bit.ly/LoyaltyMatch
Disneyland put out room and ticket discounts today!
If you have been debating going to Disneyland, now is the time. The discounted tickets will save you a lot of money. I priced out all options for a client this morning and the 3 day Monday-Thursday tickets are a big winner for 2 adults and 2 kids.
- 3 day (Monday - Thursday): $769
- 3 day (Monday-Sunday): $996.00
- Regular 3 day tickets: $1,510.00
- Regular 2 day tickets: $1,200
Ready to plan that trip? Contact me today to ensure you are getting the best prices, plus help with dining and tons of info and tricks to get the most out of your days there!
Happy 25th Birthday to Islands of Adventure!
Islands of Adventure has always been one of my favorites. We first visited over the Y2K time period right before 2000 and I fell in love and the park has only gotten better since.
Fun stories from my time at Islands of Adventure in 1999 (scroll to see us in 1999)
- The Christmas tree fell down overnight so we got a super late entry while they fixed it.
- We thought Superman was the best ride ever. It was the start of an era with that type of ride.
- We had no idea that the Hulk shot you out of the tunnel given we hadn’t seen it run yet. It was our first ride of the day. The error message as we were going up seemed legit and we were absolutely shocked when we took off.
- We wanted to go on every ride so even though it was relatively cold, we did all of the water rides and froze.
Also fun fact, my brother is one of the statistics of losing his phone on the Hulk. You can thank him for the metal detectors 🤣
Thanks for 25 years of memories and can’t wait for at least 25 more!
Time to jump for joy! I sent out an email today highlighting major news and discounts for Disney, Universal, and cruises to my clients and subscribers.
Want to receive these? Click on the link in the comments and click subscribe! I send about 4-5 emails a year so I promise it won’t clog your inbox.
Also, I finally got a decent jump photo at Disney! I will keep working on it 😁
Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for May 13 - 19
🌠 Disney Dreams that Soar Drone Show Staring May 24, 2024 at Disney Springs
⚜️ Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to Use Virtual Queue and Genie+
🏨 Creators Club at Pixar Place Hotel Opening May 24, 2024
Do you ever feel like you are running from one thing to another? The last month has been crazy but so much fun.
I promise to get back here more often with character dining, runDisney stories, and so much more but until then Hakuna Matata!
Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for May 7 - 12
⚜️Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opens June 28th at Disney World
🍽️ Fantasmic! Dining Packages Returning to Disneyland Resort
🌳 New Character Meet and Greets at Animal Kingdom
🌺 New Addition at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
🛳️ Teacher Discount for Norwegian Cruise Line
Happy Mother’s Day to my amazing mom.
She helped developed my love of Disney, travel, and adventure. She has always supported me chasing my dreams and passions and I cannot thank her enough for that. Not to mention she is always game to join me on my travels whether it be Disney, cruising, road trips, and more!
Love you mom!
Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for April 29 - May 6
🎃 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Details Released
👻 Oogie Boogie Bash Returning to Disney California Adventure
🚢 Halloween on the Disney High Seas
🏰 Disneyland Summer Discounts
🐼 Dreamworks Land Opening June 14 at Universal Studios Orlando
🧙♂️ Hogwarts Always Debuting at Islands of Adventure on June 14
🎞️ New Nighttime Spectacular at Universal Studios Florida
🎬 Universal Mega Movie Parade Debuting July 3, 2024
🎢 Epic Universe: Super Nintendo World
🗺️ Adventures by Disney Announces Lineup of 2025 Land Adventures
Happy 35th Birthday to Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM).
I took my first visit there when I was 2 years old. See the photos we took back then in the comments.
Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for April 15 - 28
🎉 Pixar Fest at Disneyland Parks
🍷 Epcot Food & Wine Festival Dates & Details Announced
🏰 New Disneyland Tours
🏨 Disney World Future Stay Offer Extended into 2025
Happy Medal Monday!
It was a whirlwind weekend for Springtime Surprise and so much fun! We finished 19.3 miles over a 5k, 10k, and 10 miler despite some extra heat and humidity.
I also completed the Coast to Coast Challenge!
So much more to come about the races and weekend in general once I get some sleep 😴
My next Disney race weekend is the Disneyland Halloween weekend in September.
Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for April 1 - 14
👻 Universal Studios Orlando Halloween Horror Nights Announced for 2024
🏰 Accessibility Services Changing at Disney World and Disneyland
🏨 Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Disney World This Summer and Early Fall
💳 Disney Visa Cardmembers: Enjoy Free Dining Plans During Select Months
🏎️ Test Track Reimagining Update
🌌 Sabine Wren Appearing at Disneyland Galaxy’s Edge
🎬 Universal Studios Hollywood 60th Anniversary of Studio Tour
🪐 New Details on 2 Universal Studios Orlando Hotels Opening 2025
🍽️ New Dining Waiting Time on Disney World and Disneyland Apps
🌮 New Culinary Delights Coming to Downtown Disney District
Travel Grown Weekly Travel Update for March 25-31
🐉 Epic Universe: Isle Of Berk
🌺 Save on Select Rooms for Stays of
5 Nights or Longer This Fall
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It is officially halfway to the holidays! The holidays are magical at Disney World. All 4 parks come to life with festive entertainment, food, characters, fireworks, and more. Plus don’t forget visiting Disney Springs and the different resorts for extra holiday cheer. Pro tip: Do you want to see the Magic Kingdom holiday entertainment but don’t want to pay extra for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party? Disney usually has these during normal park hours around Christmas to New Years. Just be ready for the holiday crowds. It isn’t too late to start planning. Use the link in my profile to reach out. Which park is your favorite during the holidays?...#halfwaytotheholidays #disneyworld #disneyholiday #disneychristmas #magickingdom #epcot #hollywoodstudios #animalkingdom #mvmcp #dreamdisneywithsam #dreamtravelwithsam #travelgrown
Ever wondered what it is like to start toward the back of a @rundisney Disney World race? Tons of fireworks! Each wave has its own fireworks and we estimated seeing 30 waves start while waiting to start the ten miler at Springtime Surprise. My wave started about 65 minutes after the official race start. @carissa_gway and @pelkman19 do a great job of keeping you entertained while waiting, which is greatly appreciated. Don’t want to wait this long to start? Make sure to submit your proof of time to get placed towards the front. Are you like me and usually not fast enough for a proof of time? Then enjoy the show and know that you will have a great race once you get started. . . . #rundisney #springtimesurprise #springtimesurpriseweekend #disneyworld #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #traveladvisor #disneyaddict
Did you know that Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival has more than topiaries? There are 28 gardens throughout the park that showcase different gardens found throughout the world. These include a floating garden, butterfly garden, desert garden, gnome garden, bonsai collection, shish-odoshi, a spice garden and more! I enjoy checking out these global gardens and taking the time to learn more about them....#epcotflowerandgardenfestival #flowerandgardenfestival #epcot #disneyworld #epcotfestival #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown #adventureplanner #traveladvisor
Less than 3 weeks until @rundisney Springtime Surprise! I cannot wait to be back running at Disney! Planning my outfits this weekend. It will be my first Springtime Surprise weekend. Anyone else running Springtime Surprise?...#rundisney #springtimesurprise #disneyworld #disneyrunner #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown #traveladvisor
It is March Madness Time! This means time for some bracket fun, but let’s focus on vacation destinations! The bracket consists of 16 vacations that I can help you plan and book. As a reminder, my services are always complimentary when you book with me. Vote on the vacation you are most interested in. Round 1 voting starts on March 18 in my stories at 8am MT. There will be new votes every day so make sure to follow along and vote for your favorites! Which destination will take the crown???...#marchmadness #bracketfun #vacations #disney #universalstudios #cruises #allinclusives #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #adventureplanner #traveladvisor #travelgrown
Did you know that you can go zip lining on several Royal Caribbean ships? It is one of the many fun activities you will find on Royal ships. And did I mention it is included in your cruise fare?It is a quick ride but still fun and very cool to say you went zip lining in the middle of the ocean. Would you give it a try?...#royalcaribbean #oasisoftheseas #royalcaribbeancruise #zipline #dreamtravelwithsam #cruise #cruiselife #travelgrown #adventureplanner
The 2024 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival is here! This festival runs from February 28 through May 27 and has tons of fun for everyone, but it is most well known for its topiaries! There are 29 areas for incredible topiary designs spread throughout the park. You will see some of the favorites including Mickey and friends, Buzz Lightyear, Lion King, Toy Story, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, and more! This year, you will find a couple new topiaries including Asha, Valentino, and Star from Wish, Miguel and Dante from Coco, and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. These photos are from previous years so locations of topiaries may differ this year. It is never too late to plan a trip to visit Epcot during Flower and Garden Festival. Reach out through the link in my profile to start planning your trip! My planning services are complimentary when you book with me. ...#epcotflowerandgardenfestival #epcot #flowerandgardenfestival #disneyworld #topiary #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown #adventureplanner #traveladvisor
I have been working on information and guides for clients that are going to Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii and I cannot help but dream back to my stay there. Aulani has the perfect blend of relaxation, play, and Disney magic with delicious food and beverages in Hawaiian paradise. Interested in visiting? Contact me to start planning your Hawaiian adventure! . . . #aulani #disneyaulani #koolina #hawaii #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown #adventureplanner
The Disneyland 10k was a lot of fun. The course was still mostly in the parks. The lines for characters were long so I skipped those and instead just enjoyed running through the parks. This was the first race that we got to run through the castle (although I wish there had been a race photographer there). The duck theme was strong with Donald and Daisy kicking off the race and then getting a little crazy shaking their tail feathers at the end (make sure to watch until the end). Character stops included Scrooge, Huey/Dewey/Louie, Launchpad McQuack, and Abby Mallard to keep with the duck theme. I represented @acsdnation during this run and had a blast cheering on everyone at the finish line. Thanks to @magichatterco for the excellent visor to base my outfit around. . . . #rundisney #disneyland10k #disneyland #acsdnation #teamdetermination #americancancersociety #acs #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown #adventureplanner
Walk to Remember! Sometimes you get a fun experience of walking with a character in the parks. We caught Goofy on the way to his photo spot and he took my arm to lead me there. Makes it even more memorable since I adore Goofy. . . . #goofy #disneycaliforniaadventure #californiaadventure #disneyland #disneycharacters #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown #adventureplanner #traveladvisor
There is so much to do on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. Trust me, you will never be bored. This is just a sampling of what we did during our 5 day Caribbean Cruise. The ship is huge and there is always something going on including live music, trivia, dance classes, pools and slides, mini golf, Flowrider, zip lining, rock climbing, athletic competitions, shopping, shows, carousel rides, ice skating, laser tag, and on and on. Adults and kids will find plenty to do. Are you interested in going on a cruise? Contact me to start planning! . . . #royalcaribbean #oasisoftheseas #cruise #travelgrown #adventureplanner #traveladvisor #dreamtravelwithsam
Life is too short to be wasted…so book that trip! Whether you prefer Disney, hiking, cruising, wine tasting, historical places, adventurous, relaxing, or anything else, just make sure you book that trip. It is always worth it!...#bookthattrip #dreamtravelwithsam #adventureplanner #traveladvisor #travelgrown #disney #norwegiancruiseline #disneycruise
Highlights from my Norwegian Bliss cruise! Alaska is amazing and the views from the cruise are incredible. There is so much to do on the ship and the food was delicious. Are you area for your next cruise? I would love to help you plan it!...#norwegiancruiseline #cruisenorwegian #norwegianbliss #alaskacruise #dreamtravelwithsam #adventureplanner #travelgrown
One of my favorite excursions on my @norwegiancruiseline Alaska cruise was a river float by Mendenhall Glacier. Of course my group picked the white water adventure path and we loved it! A few people got soaked with glacial water but it was worth it! Would you do white water rafting on glacial water?...#norwegianbliss #cruisenorwegian #norwegiancruiseline #mendenhallglacier #alaskatraveladventures #cruisealaska #dreamtravelwithsam #travelgrown #adventureplanner #traveladvisor
One of my favorite things about my cruise on the @norwegiancruiseline Bliss was the nightly entertainment. I got to see Broadway quality shows Six and Jersey Boys. The Beatles cover band was tons of fun and they always had more going on with Deal or No Deal, themed parties, and musicians. I have been listening to the Six songs for months and was so excited to see this amazing group of women perform. They even encouraged taking out our phones during this last song. We got there early and had amazing seats both nights. I just purchased tickets to see Six in Denver. To get the seats we had on the cruise, it would have been $150-200 per person! It is all included in the cruise fare! A lot of cruise ships have Broadway quality shows. I can work with you to find exactly what you are looking for on your cruise, whether that be shows, piano bars, activities, kids and adult entertainment, and more. Use the link in my bio to reach me. Are ships with Broadway shows a big draw for you? . . . #norwegiancruiseline #norwegianbliss #cruisenorwegian #six #sorrynotsorry #divorcedbeheadedlive #dreamtravelwithsam #cruise #travelgrown #sixthemusical #adventureplanner
Have you been to Epcot’s Candlelight Processional? It takes place every year during the Epcot Festival of the Holidays. A celebrity narrator reads the story of Christmas while the incredible choir sings your favorite Christmas songs. It is a beautiful show. Disney just released the celebrity narrators that will be performing this year starting on November 24 and running through December 30. I was lucky enough to catch a show narrated by Neil Patrick Harris last year and loved it! This audio is from the show last year. I am hopefully catching a show narrated by Eva Longoria or Jordan Fisher this year. You can wait in a standby line or get a dining package to guarantee reserved seating. Dining packages open on October 17. It is never too late to plan a holiday trip to see your favorite narrator. Use the link in my profile to start planning. . . . #candlelightprocessional #epcotfestivaloftheholidays #disneyholidays #epcot #disneychristmas #dreamtravelwithsam #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown #voicesofliberty #disneyworld #disneyvacation #disneymemories
There is no wrong answer! All 4 Disney vacations are magical, but very different. It is never too early to start planning your 2024 vacation. Even better is that I can help you plan all of them! You want to get the most out of your vacation and I am here to help! Reach out through the link in my profile to start planning now!...#disneyvacation #dreamtravelwithsam #disneyworld #disneyland #disneycruise #disneycruiseline #aulani #disneyaulani #disneymemories #travelgrown #adventureplanner
We almost didn’t do the Sky Glider at Icy Strait Point to save money. I am so glad we did it. It was worth the $50 for the views on the ride up and at the top. We even saw a whale spouting in the distance from the top! This is a must do for me at Icy Strait Point. #icystraitpoint #skyglider #alaska #cruisealaska #alaskacruise #norwegiancruiseline #norwegianbliss #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown
We just finished our 7 night Alaskan cruise on the Norwegian Bliss and I was amazed at the incredible views. All of the photos were taken from the ship. I cannot recommend an Alaskan cruise enough. I live in Colorado and see stunning mountains every day but Alaska still blew me away. I cannot wait to go back including spending more time on land. Want to start planning your Alaskan cruise? Reach out to me through the link in my profile! #norwegiancruiseline #ncl #norwegianbliss #cruisealaska #cruisingalaska #alaskacruise #alaskaviews #dreamdisneywithsam #travelgrown #travelagent #adventureplanner
Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency?
I am putting my love of Disney and travel together and an now a travel agent specialized in Disney, Universal, and cruise vacations through the Vacationeer. I can help you plan your Disney, Universal, or cruise vacation for FREE! I have been to Disney World over 15 times in my life and stay up to date on all Disney news. I have been to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure at least 5 times each. I love pulling together the details for a great vacation and customize it to what you want.
My free services include:
▪️Helping you walk through your options to fit within your budget. ▪️Providing quotes based on our discussion about what you are looking for. ▪️Booking the hotel/ticket/cruise package for you and getting you set up on MyDisneyExperience or the cruise line's website. ▪️Continuing to check for better prices when new offers/specials are announced. ▪️Providing a personalized itinerary for each person going and include some fun extras throughout the process. ▪️Answering any questions you have throughout the process ▪️Disney specific- Helping you select dining reservations and will get up 180 days before your trip to get what you want (some sell out within a day or two). ▪️Disney specific- Helping you decide which FastPasses to get each day (you get 3 free each day to help you avoid the lines) and will get up early 60 days before your trip to get them all booked.
Let me help you plan and book your perfect Disney, Universal, or cruise vacation. Message or email me ([email protected]) for more information and let's get your next vacation started!
