May 14, 2025 • 56 mins
Dreaming of a Disney vacation but overwhelmed by the endless options and planning details? Our conversation with travel expert Kateland Sibert unlocks the secrets to creating magical Disney memories without breaking the bank or losing your sanity.
Kateland shares how budget-conscious travelers can experience Disney World starting around $1,000 per person while still enjoying the full magic. We explore the differences between value, moderate, and deluxe resorts, revealing how accommodations like Pop Century and Art of Animation offer premium perks like Skyliner access without the premium price tag. Ever wondered what makes that Disney bubble so special? This episode captures the intangible magic that keeps families coming back time after time.
Timing is everything at Disney World. Learn why July and August might offer shorter wait times despite Florida heat, and how traveling during school sessions can transform your experience. Kateland's insider knowledge on dining options demystifies character experiences, dining plans, and those iconic Disney snacks everyone raves about. Plus, discover why Memory Maker photos are considered "non-negotiable" by seasoned Disney travelers.
Beyond the parks, we venture into conversations about Disney Cruise Line, Universal Studios options, and how families can combine multiple Orlando experiences into one unforgettable vacation. Most surprisingly, we reveal why working with a travel agent like Kateland costs you absolutely nothing extra while potentially saving you hundreds through promotions, upgrades, and stress-free planning.
Whether you're a Disney first-timer or looking to elevate your next visit, this episode delivers practical wisdom for creating those precious family memories that last a lifetime. Ready to transform your vacation planning from intimidating to inspiring? This conversation is your first step toward Disney magic.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey guys and welcome back to the Running on Coffee
and Cries podcast.
We are so excited to be herefor episode 14.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yep, episode 14.
So we've got a special episode.
This time we're going to betalking to a travel agent about
traveling and I like, why are wetalking about traveling on
Running, on Coffee and Criespodcast?
But it's just important tothink about.
You know, family time, familytime where you get together.
You get to experience differentthings that we have in this and
Christ podcast, but it's justimportant to think about.
You know, family time, familytime where you get together.
You get to experience differentthings that we have in this
life and a lot of runs that yougo on.
(00:32):
You know, when your runningjourney progresses, you wind up
traveling to be able to run.
There's a lot of people that goplaces to run and you know we
can hit on that with.
There's a run at this placethat we're going to talk about
today, but we're just excited tobe able to have this time to be
able to talk about it and justthink about all the things that
we're going to be doing.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes.
So today we're specificallygoing to be talking about
planning your vacation to DisneyWorld.
If you haven't been, youprobably at least want to go
once in your life.
And today we have an expertwith us.
Her name is Caitlin Seibert.
I am so excited.
Thank you for joining us today.
So, caitlin, will you tell us alittle bit about yourself and
(01:13):
what it is that you do?
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Okay, Thank you for having me first You're welcome.
So I'm Caitlin Seibert.
My full-time day job is I'm amath teacher at Wallace State,
I'm at the Oneonta campus, okay,but one of my biggest passions
is traveling and, like y'all,I'm very passionate with
traveling, and traveling with myfamily and exposing
(01:37):
specifically my girls todifferent areas, different
things to do, and so for a whilenow, I've been planning trips
for my family, okay, and lastsummer they finally talked me
into becoming a travel agent.
So now I am an independenttravel advisor with Disarella
(01:57):
Travel Company Okay, where wespecialize in many destinations,
but specifically Disney Okay,disney Cruise Line, disney World
, disneyland.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
There's so much with Disney, right?
Yes, probably a lot more than Ieven know.
You can't get it done in onetrip.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
I've not as many times as I've visited, and I've
been going since I was 18, Ihave still not done everything I
want to do Just give us aroundabout number.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
How many times do you think you've been?
Oh Are.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Give us a roundabout number.
How many times do you thinkyou've been?
Oh Are we in the teens, or arewe?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
We might be in the teens.
Wow, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Now I went once when I was a child, like two, and I
don't remember that and that'swhen it was new, because when
did it come out?
In the 80s, I mean, like Ithink it was, I'm not sure
Anyway, but I did go then.
And then I went once in highschool with like the band or
whatever, and then we went as afamily and honestly we have said
(02:53):
that's one of the best tripsthat we've ever taken.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Unless you've been there, you don't really
understand the magic bubble.
It's true.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And you sense it from the minute you enter that
Waltalt disney world.
I agree, it's a bubble of justhappiness, and I don't think it
matters the age, like because wehave our son gosh.
When was that that we went 2021?
Or 2022, anyway, I know how oldhe looked yeah, I think he was
probably 12 or so and then ourgirl was like four and they both
had.
We had an amazing time together.
(03:28):
You don't have one kid thatfeels left out.
You know, it's just.
It's just good.
I can't explain it like that foreverybody yes, the older ones
even like doing what the youngerkids are doing and the younger
kid, yeah, it's just great.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Um, and the park itself um, I've noticed with
most parks they they accommodate, you know, younger kids with
multiple parents.
You know, like the with the kidsshare whatever that kids swap
where the parents come um, butdisney, I think they really do
that um, above and beyond, likewhat some of the other parks
we've been to, the way that theyhandle that and they, they
really put you as a priority.
(04:02):
Um, because you know so one ofyour parents is going to wait in
line for that long time andthen they want you to also reap
the benefits, so like they putyou at the front, you know,
automatically, because someonein your family waited a really
long time to ride that ride, theother parent shouldn't have to
wait as well.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And they do a really good job of that.
But yeah, like I said, bothkids were entertained the entire
time.
And but yeah, like I said, bothkids were entertained the
entire time.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And it feels so safe.
Yes, like that's one thing thatreally stuck out to me,
especially being a mom.
You know, like I felt like not,maybe, so then let my
12-year-old go off by himself,but I would definitely let my
15-year-old go off by himselfwith some friends.
Like that feels safe to me, andlike you have your stroller and
(04:48):
you just push it up to thisother wad of strollers and
you're not worried in the leastbit that somebody's going to
steal everything that you have.
People are watching.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yes, undercover people that are.
See, that's so cool.
There was somebody um speakingof safety.
We were waiting in line athollywood studios for um, donald
and daisy, okay, and when theycame out, I believe that
somebody behind us that was notpart of our party they were
actually recording Donald andDaisy coming out, but somebody
caught on to my kids being intheir video.
(05:13):
And they handled it sobeautifully, but they stopped
them from recording and had themmake sure that they weren't
getting other people's childrenin the video.
That is so above Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Wow, wow, okay, so I know that I think the number one
question what is the number onequestion people ask you when it
comes to Disney Planning thetrip?
I know to me, the first thing Iwould want to know is how much
is it going to cost me?
Yes, and the budget like arethere different price points
(05:46):
that you can?
Can you do this budget friendlyand still have a really good
time?
And obviously I know thatthere's the ceiling is endless
on how much you could spend.
But uh, why don't you walk usthrough that whole when someone
is getting a quote from you fora trip, um, what that looks like
price point wise.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Okay.
So, first off, the only reasonI get to go as many times as I
do is because I am about budgetfriendly.
So, Disney does a great job.
They have good neighbor hotels.
They have what's called valueresorts.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
That is your all-star and I love the all-star resorts
.
I've stayed at them.
It's all-star sports, all-starmovies and all-star, and I love
the all-star resorts.
I've stayed at them it'sall-star sports, all-star movies
and all-star music.
Okay, music is our favoritebecause it has family suites
there, which is a little bitpricier.
Okay, they also have thefavorite.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
My two most booked is probably pop century and
all-star I mean not all-star artof animation okay, I believe we
stayed there art of animationis unreal, like absolutely
unreal.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Pop century is probably um my top favorite
value resort okay because artand pop have access to skyliner,
okay, so if you want to say low, low end and just because I say
low end, I mean low end pricerange yes, I don't mean low end
quality.
It is not it's not.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I can attest to that.
Because we stayed at art ofanimation, I would stay there
again.
100.
It still felt so.
It felt luxurious to me.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
You know, okay, I mean, that's where we stayed,
many, many times yeah um, but Itry to tell people to expect per
person to at least spendsomewhere around a thousand
dollars per person.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, a thousand to a fifteen how length of a stay
would that be?
Speaker 3 (07:37):
um, probably three, four nights okay I would not
suggest anything under that,unless you were going for a
specific reason.
Okay.
But the value resorts, theall-star.
You have transportation.
So one perk of staying on aresort at Disney is
transportation, complimentarytransportation, and so we always
(08:00):
fly down.
That's just something that webudget for.
We have driven before and itwasn't terrible Some of my
clients drive down and that'sjust something that we budget
for.
We have driven before and itwasn't terrible.
Yeah, some of my clients drivedown and that's fine, but I
don't want to drive to the parks.
I don't want to try to handleany of that, sure, um, when
you're staying at the all-starresorts, you can get on the
buses, okay, and they'll takeyou.
But when you stay at popcentury or art of animation, you
(08:22):
have access to this skylinewhich which I loved.
I love this.
That's probably anon-negotiable for me, sure.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
This Skyliner, I agree.
It's a ride all in itself.
It is You're just in a littlebucket.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
It's private to you and your family and it takes you
directly to Epcot or HollywoodStudios.
So if you're staying at pop orart of animation, you only need
the bus for animal kingdom ormagic kingdom, and so I will pay
for convenience yes, I agree,because that's what helps.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Makes the trip more enjoyable to me is having that
convenience.
Um, so what are some of themore pricey?
So what are some of the more?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
pricey options.
There's also moderate resorts.
That's going to be like yourCaribbean Beach, which also has
Skyliner access.
Okay.
So you have those options ofyour moderate resorts that are
kind of in between Port Orleans.
That's a favorite for myclients.
But then you have your deluxe.
Okay, so I will be experiencingmy first deluxe this summer,
(09:26):
yay yay wow, um, I will bestaying at beach club.
So the reason I chose beachclub is because you can walk
into epcot nice epcot is one ofour favorite resort we love it
too.
Yes, but you walk directly inokay and it will take you the
back, which is where Ratatouilleis located, mm-hmm.
(09:48):
But you also have access to theSkyliner from Beach Club.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
So that is why we chose Beach Club.
So now?
Speaker 1 (09:55):
does the Skyliner only go to Epcot and Hollywood
Studios?
Do they think that they'regoing to expand the Skyliner
transportation?
Do they even have the footprintto do that?
I don't even know.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Not that I know of.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
You haven't heard any talk of that.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
There's several resorts, the Riviera.
You can hop on the Skyliner.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
The Caribbean.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Beach.
You can hop on the Skyliner.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
I'm trying to think if there's another, so is the
only way to get to AnimalKingdom and Magic Kingdom from
anywhere by bus.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Actually no.
You can also stay at a deluxeresort.
I'll be doing this in the fall.
Okay, Now I go.
It's part of my job.
I have to experience this.
That's right, that's right,we're going to stay at the
Polynesian Resort.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
You have your deluxe resorts in each resort area, so
I chose Epcot resort area forJune.
Okay, this fall we're going tobe staying at a Magic Kingdom
okay deluxe resort, which is thePolynesian nice.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
So you have the monorail that runs through those
contemporary Grand Floridianand Polynesian, so it'll run
there and it runs from magickingdom to epcot, okay I had
thought, like when we, when westayed there, I remember there
was the option to do parkjumping and that if you were
staying in one of those type ofresorts where you had that tram
(11:17):
system between the two, it'd bevery convenient to just hop and
pop, you know, like hop in oneplace, go see another.
If you're going for specificevents or specific like concerts
and things have you park hopped.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
I am a park hopper to me that's not a non-essential.
Usually if I have first timepeople that are visiting disney
world and they're overwhelmed byeverything they want to do, I
say it's perfectly fine to spendone day per park.
Yes, that there is nothingwrong with not getting a park
hopper.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
And that's what we did.
We did four days, four parks.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
I do a park hopper because I like to watch the wait
times at other parks Uh-huh.
And if a wait time at MagicKingdom is lower than wait times
that I'm experiencing at mycurrent park, I'm going to park
hop.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Specifically, I love park hopping from Epcot to Magic
Kingdom because of the monorailaccess Okay.
I love park hopping back andforth between Hollywood Studios
and Epcot because of theSkyliner.
So it's a quick little 10, 15minute Right, hardly no wait.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
That's awesome.
So I mean, if there's a waitline that's like 90 minutes at
one place and then 30 minutes atthe other and it takes 15
minutes to get there.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
You can ride two rides for the cost of one or for
the time of one.
Yeah, yeah, essentially yes.
So basically your budget can goanywhere from.
You're really paying forconvenience, like how convenient
do you want this trip to becorrect?
Speaker 3 (12:38):
um you turn it into what you want it to be right
when I'm quoting anon-negotiable to me.
I can negotiate on resort, Ican negotiate on park hopper,
but one absolute non-negotiablethat I always advise people to
do is to get the memory makeryes I mean the, the pictures
that come with memory maker Iagree fantastic, there's
(13:00):
photographers all over the parksor photo ops.
You can experience it.
You can enjoy watching yourkids with their meet and greets
and you can just watch and soakit in, because there's somebody
snapping pictures continuously.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Right, and do you just like you don't?
I'm trying to remember therewas like a watch or a band or
something that we wore.
Is that they like?
Scan your band?
Yes, and that's how theyidentify what pictures are with
what family, and it's like allthat is on the same exact
account, like you're able tojust log in and see everything
that had to do with your tripand it's all under that, so you
(13:35):
don't have to carry your walletor anything.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
It's just that everything and I think that's
why I love disney much.
It was just so customer focused, like they really want to make
this trip just enjoyable, youknow?
I mean you really feel likewhen I got there I didn't leave
thinking, man, I just spent aton of money and I wish I had.
You know, it's like let's do itagain.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
You know I'm planning my next trip.
Before we make a plan.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yes, yes.
So guys there are, and when itcomes to the budget, even you
might be thinking gosh, $1,000 aperson.
I've got five people in myfamily that still, you know,
$5,000 I've got to come up with.
But how far in advance can youbook your trip so that you can,
you know, be making paymentsslowly towards that?
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Well, Disney just opened their 2026 dates.
Okay, disney just opened their2026 dates.
So if you're wanting to startpaying and book a trip, it is
always my advice to book early.
Okay, all it takes to confirmyour Disney reservation is a
$200 deposit.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Okay, well, that's not much at all, okay.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
And if you have to alter.
I have many clients that wantto go a specific month, but then
some unexpected things come up.
They can't go that month.
All I have to do is have manyclients that want to go a
specific month, but then someunexpected things come up.
They can't go that month all Ihave to do is call and fix it
and we bump it back, okay, andwe bump it.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
I mean, disney is very accommodating I will say
this is kind of a sidebar, butwhile we were on our trip we had
I'm trying to think what we hadhollywood studios and magic
kingdom back to back and we werelike we're exhausted.
So we felt like we were able tocall our agent and be like, can
we swap our part day?
(15:13):
Like can we move the day thatwe were going to be at magic
kingdom?
Can we do animal kingdom?
We needed a slower day and thatwas so easy to do and like we
didn't even have to sweat it atall.
She took care of it and youdon't have to pay for your
services either, do you?
Does Disney give you something?
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Yes, so it does not matter if you book a Disney
vacation with or without atravel agent.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
There is, you're still.
That price is still.
It's not going to change.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Right, and you can look.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
I've had people that are like I have found this for
this price, can you do this?
And I do it.
Yes, so that it's not like, um,you're not, it's not right and
like.
So it's not going to cost youextra to have these experts and
literally they're experts.
She's been so many times.
She knows the tips, tricks, youknow.
Uh, she's gonna get the bestdeal for you and I watch for
promos right um, disney is verygood about releasing some sort
of promo right now.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
The promo for 2026 is when you buy dining plan, your
kids dining plan is free.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Oh yeah, nice things we were going to talk about we
are, we're gonna.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
I don't want, I don't want to hit it yet because
there's, I mean the fooddeserves its own topic we could
do a whole episode on disney, Ifeel like.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
But now when we went it was covid.
They did not have any diningplans and we didn't get to do
any character meetups, so and westill had an amazing time, um,
okay, so we've talked aboutbudget and we did talk somewhat
about the lodging, all thedifferent places that you can
stay.
Correct me if I'm wrong isthere not camping options as
(16:52):
well?
Speaker 3 (16:53):
there is, there is a campground, um, they also have
dvc cabins.
It's the disney vacation club.
So okay, like a timeshare okay,a little bit, but they have
their brand new cabins, but theyalso they do have a campground.
Okay, and people love it too.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Yes, I've heard people doing that.
What do you think about peoplethat do stay off?
Speaker 3 (17:17):
I think if that's what works for your budget, I
think that that's fine to stayoff property.
But I think when you stay offproperty you're honestly losing
a little bit of that magic.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
I agree, I do, and are you really saving that much
money?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
well.
So you can't book a package.
So when you stay off ofproperty you're further away,
you're going to have to pay forparking, you're going.
So a perk of staying on resortis lightning lane reservations.
That is the old genie plus thatis the fast pass system.
So when you stay on resort youcan purchase and start booking
(17:59):
your lightning lanes seven daysin advance.
You don't get that luxury offresort.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Do you recommend buying lightning lanes?
Do you do it for certain?
Speaker 3 (18:10):
rides.
Okay.
So I will always, always,always pay $20 for the single
pass.
Lightning lane for Guardians ofthe Galaxy, okay.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
I will pay the $20 every day.
Okay, it is hands down myfavorite ride Okay.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
It's.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Cammie's favorite ride, mm-hmm.
We, like I said, I pay forconvenience.
Mm-hmm.
I don't want to stand in atwo-hour wait, right, so I would
much rather wait 10 minutes.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Two hours.
So I do purchase the singlepass lightning lanes.
The same for seven dwarfs.
Okay, I think that one's $14.
There's flight of passage.
I will always do a single passlightning lane.
Okay.
Multipass.
It really kind of depends onthe situation, on when I'm going
(18:56):
.
I personally do okay.
There's been maybe one or twodays in all of my trips where
I'm like I'm gonna risk it, okay, and that's usually when
there's an event.
So Magic Kingdom, mickey's Notso Scary Halloween Party yeah,
they close Magic Kingdom downearly at 6 pm yes so a lot of
people don't even go to magickingdom that day, so I'm not
(19:19):
going by multi-pass lightninglane for that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah, so that makes sense.
Less travel during the daytime,correct?
I did have one question,because we're talking about,
like, lodging before we move onfrom there.
But when it comes to theresorts and the camping and
different things like that, the,the resorts that you're calling
budget friendly, the ones Now,what I remember is we really
only just slept there.
I think we went to the pool acouple of times.
(19:43):
It wasn't the best temperaturetime of year for the pool.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
It was a little cool.
We went during Halloween timeyeah during Halloween.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
But as far as like the resorts, like when you move
to different resorts that arecloser to the park, do they have
actually more amenities?
If you said I just want a dayat the resort, are there other
things that the resort offersother than just a bed, tv and a
pool?
Speaker 3 (20:07):
So some places have the specialty dining.
Ohana is a favorite of people.
They love to have that diningexperience.
That is at the PolynesianResort so you can walk over.
Okay.
The Contemporary is where ChefMickey is located.
Okay, there is a steakhouselocated at Contemporary as well,
mm-hmm.
For Beach Club.
(20:29):
We're right next to Cape May'sBreakfast, okay, so a lot of the
resorts will have resort dining.
Okay, which?
You still have access to.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Okay, like you don't have to stay at that place to be
able to enjoy that dining.
You don't have to stay at that.
No, I gotcha.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
It's just the convenience of walking over.
If you do stay at a deluxeresort, you do get the privilege
of after hours or extra parkhours okay on select nights okay
, now correct me if I'm wrongtoo.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Like if you stay on resort period, you did you get
to enter the park early?
Speaker 3 (21:01):
early entry.
There is no way around that,because once you scan to get
into the park, they haveeverything blocked off and you
have to scan to get past them.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
For early entry.
Okay, and well and well.
No, I don't want to get tooahead of myself.
Okay, next topic when is thebest time to go?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
The best time to go is kind of subjective for your
personal goals for Disney, um,so lower wait times, obviously
July and August, that peopledon't want to go when it's hot
in.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Florida, so people will kind of avoid those times
because they don't want to gethot.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Right, I will, I'll deal with it yes.
Okay, I think Disney does agreat job of your wait times are
spent inside.
Okay, so, with a lot of therides.
Now there's some rides wherethey're outside, but as far as
heat, I'll brave the heat.
Yep, endure the lower waittimes.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
And we're here in Alabama.
It's not too far off the realmfrom us anyway.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
It's really not you.
Weather-wise, the most pleasantis probably going to be your
November to March-ish.
Okay.
We went this past March and theweather was fantastic.
Nice I've been in August whenit was hot Mm-hmm, it was fun.
(22:28):
Yeah.
I would really kind of avoidmajor holidays.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Okay, that's.
My next question is when is theworst time to go?
Speaker 3 (22:38):
So you probably do not want to go on Christmas Day.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
New.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Year's Day.
The parks have been known toclose down due to capacity on
those days.
My typical advice is you wantto avoid the school crowd?
Okay, so, when the school, whenschools are getting out for
Christmas, probably beforeChristmas is a good time.
(23:02):
Okay, so December, that firstcouple of weeks of December,
after the kids go back fromThanksgiving break Yep, and
right before they get out forThanksgiving, christmas break,
christmas break, uh-huh, yep,and right before they get out
for Thanksgiving, christmasbreak, uh-huh, yes.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
And you might be like my kid can't miss school.
Let your kids miss school.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Sorry, we uh.
I'm a teacher here.
I tend to pull my kids out acouple of days before a break.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
I mean, sometimes you just you gotta go when it works
for your family too, yes, Imean sometimes you just you
gotta go when it works for yourfamily too, yes, I mean.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
And your kids are really learning while they're
down?
Yes, they are.
You got living with the land.
That ride is underrated, yeah,okay I don't even know that ride
that is a epcot, but it'stalking about the vegetation of
all these locations yes, yes,yes, I do remember that good.
I mean, your kids learn a lot.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Or even the one where you're in the ball.
What is that ride?
Yes, oh, the communications one.
Yes.
Gosh, what is the name of thatride?
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Oh well, but they actually even in the living with
the land they had a coffeeplant there just sidebar.
You know they, you know theyhad a coffee plant going there
that actually had coffeecherries on it.
We were excited to see that ina full bloom.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Okay, so also talking about times to go, there is the
marathon and half marathon thatthey do there.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Can you tell us when they do that?
Okay, so they do marathonsfrequently, Okay so it's not
just one.
It's not just one.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
So they have the marathon weekend, which is in
January.
Okay, okay, so for 2026, that'sJanuary 7th through the 11th.
Unfortunately, that is sold out.
Oh already, yeah, so it is veryintense trying to get into
those races.
They usually sell out the dayregistration opens.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Wow, I didn't realize that.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
So you kind of have to be prepared, because it's a
bucket list thing, but I didn'trealize that.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Okay, that's good information to know.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
It's very intense, Like you have to have your mind
made up.
Okay, and you've got to be inthat queue ready to go.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
The one that's coming up this year, the last one, and
dine, and it is in october.
Okay, unfortunately it is soldout.
It's during the food and winefestival that's in epcot right.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yes, we went during that time frame.
That was really nice.
Yes, I love the food and winefestival.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Yes, so the disney princess half marathon?
Okay, that registration has notopened yet, but for next year
it's it's February 26th throughMarch 2nd.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Okay, and they offer different runs.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
They have the 5K, they have the 10K.
They have the half marathon.
Then they have what they call achallenge, so it's combining
some of those runs together.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Okay, Now where do they do these runs at Like what
park?
Or is it in multiple parks?
Speaker 3 (25:49):
It's in multiple locations.
So the, and then there is alsothe springtime surprise weekend.
Okay, so those registrationsfor the last two have not opened
yet.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Where do you find these registrations at?
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Run.
Disney is where you want tostart.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Okay, and you?
Speaker 3 (26:06):
can find all the information and the scheduling
at rundisneycom.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Okay, so would you advise, let's just pretend that
we're gonna run, okay, yes, um,we would need to get our
registration in for that andthen maybe book probably yes,
probably okay because parktickets and stay that is not
included.
With right the right okaybecause, I mean, I was just
(26:32):
saying you would want to makesure that if you to get in on
the race, that's the first thingthat you would need to do and
then take a trip, maybe theDisney Princess Half Marathon.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
that registration actually opens June 24th.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Okay, I need to write this down.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
We don't have to dress like a princess to run it,
though, right.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Some people do dress like a princess?
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Yeah, I think they do .
I think they do um, do you run,because I know that you work
out?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I like to think that I can run it but while I'm
running, I actually wonder whyI've done it to myself.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I actually do really want to run disney, though,
because I'm thinking too thatthere's not a lot of elevation
there.
I would love, yes, I would loveto participate in this and they
they actually have yoga ohreally yes at Hollywood Studios
now most of these resorts too.
I'm sure they have gyms insidethem, don't they?
Okay, that's good to know.
(27:30):
All right, let's move on tofood.
Okay, all right.
So you just mentioned, too, theFood and Wine Festival that
they have.
That happens once a year atEpcot.
Right, tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Okay, it runs August through mid-November.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
It is the International Food and Wine
Festival, so that is at Epcot.
That is my favorite festival.
This will be my third year in arow going to this festival,
yeah.
And they just have differentvendors set up and specialty
food representing each country.
Yes, it's great If you've neverbeen.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
I'm just going to speak for those that have never
been.
Epcot is you visit, like allthese different countries, like
that's the theme.
So it's like when you're in ohmy gosh, this isn't, I'm not
going to get into this but likewhen you're in England.
Is that where, like Alice inWonderland?
Speaker 3 (28:19):
is United Kingdom.
Okay, yes.
And then like France.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
You're going to find Ratatouille there and Remy the
Rod.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
And that Epcot's actually very underrated for
finding characters.
You've got to slow down and youwill find Jasmine, you will
find Belle, you will find AnnaSee, that's awesome, you can
only find Anna and Elsa at Epcot.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Oh see, those are good things to know, Because I
think people just automaticallyassume you need to go to Magic
Kingdom, where the castle is,and that's not true.
They might be in their homecountry.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Yes, yeah, now Epcot's set up, if I remember
right.
It's around a big body of water, correct?
Yes, correct.
If you look at it from the mapview it kind of looks like an
eight ball pen, but it's got ahuge body of water that you walk
all the way around and it'skind of like you're going around
the world Each area of the pie.
I guess if you were to divideit up into pies and so the food
(29:11):
for that festival caters tothose different areas also, and
then the music and theatmosphere and the floral and
fauna and everything about it isjust you're soaking in a
different atmosphere, everysingle, you know, every 20, 30
yards.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
You're entering a new world.
Yes, I know that I feel likeEpcot in general is underrated.
Like people will say, ifthey're going to skip a park,
they're going to skip Epcot, andI'm like what in the world?
Speaker 3 (29:35):
and we spend a full day at epcot we, we loved it too
.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
I mean, we were like about education for
homeschoolers yes yes and epcot.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
They have done a lot of updates and so, if you have
been the past couple of years,it was closed off and there was
fences up yes but it was fortheir renovations that they were
doing so now you can see mickeyand friends nice and you know
(30:05):
they have figment figmentsunderrated too we my kids love
figment, I don't know why butthey love figment and the things
that you learn I think, toothink there was a ride there
that my kids love, sore, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
And you're just sitting in this little it feels
like you're flying in this.
It's just great and it was airconditioned yes yes, yes, that's
, that's always when you want togo to, when you want to cool
off or get out of the car yes,so to me the food was great in
epcot, but there are certainsnacks that I think the general
public have knowledge of now,because everybody talked like
(30:40):
the dull whip, um.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
So what are some of those snacks that are most
popular at disney that you'relike, you gotta have this well,
my family were popcorn eaters,so if you have a so on day one
which, if you book with me, thisis also a prize that you have
waiting for you is a popcornbucket, okay, so all you have to
do is have that popcorn bucketand it costs like $2.50 to
(31:04):
refill.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
And so we snack on popcorn.
We have that with us prettymuch the entire time.
My kids love it.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
The Dole Whips that is a must for my kids.
Now, are these available in allof the parks?
Like, can you get Dole Whip atevery park?
Because I don't think you can,but I don't remember which ones
that you can.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Especially Dole Whips maybe but the original one is
at Magic Kingdom.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Now my favorite snack is at Sleepy Hollow.
Okay, and it is a nutellawaffle with oh we, we haven't
had that one.
Nice, they have beignets nextto tiana's so I mean you just
can't go wrong with some ofthose snacks I don't think so
either, and I think beignets areunderrated.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Yes, by far like if you want to you.
You want something that's goingto spike your sugar really
quick and be like, like, melt inyour mouth.
One of a good beignet is, Imean, it hits the spot so do you
?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
do?
They have some good ones withthat in epcot at probably in the
paris section maybe, or eventhe new orleans, oh yes we did
have the crepes.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
It's not just sweet crepes either, isn't it?
Yeah, it was like savory,savory crepes.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Yes and that's hidden .
That's like on your way toratatouille yes so I like to get
a crepe and then get in linefor ratatouille yes chocolate
kind of makes me feel betterabout waiting that line that
ratatouille ride is quite nicetoo.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
There's just something cute about getting in
that little rat.
It's just fun.
Yes, my favorite ride at epcotwas the uh on the frozen ride
though I love that little ride.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So speak on this.
If you're planning a familytrip, obviously you don't want
to spend all your money on food.
What are some things that thepark allows that you think are
best practices for children andkids, young ones, for being cost
effective and helping to havesnacks Are you allowed to bring
outside food and what are ourlimits on that?
To have snacks Are you allowedto bring outside food and what
are our limits?
Speaker 3 (32:54):
on that.
Okay, so I actually we all packour mugs, our Yeti mugs, or?
Whatever.
And what we like to do is welike to fill it up with ice the
night before.
Put it well if you have afridge, you put it in the
freezer.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
And so, and there's free water refills all across
the park.
Okay, so we don't drink anykind of drink drinks at the park
.
Okay, we take our mugs, and Iactually have a shoe holder that
I have cut and it is attachedto our stroller.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
And I mean it's just filled up with different mugs
and we refill our water at anywater refill, they'll give you a
cup of water.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
They'll give you a cup of ice.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
But as far as snacks go, we have snacks in our
backpack Cheez-Its, slim Jimscrackers.
We keep those kind of snackswith us.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
I think we even took those little Uncrustables with
us?
Speaker 3 (33:55):
They don't.
They're not.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Does anyone ever bring a stroller, even if they
don't have kids that are astroller age?
Speaker 3 (34:02):
I really think it's a great idea.
I do too.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
It was so convenient to have a stroller with our
little girl and it's like I'mgoing to miss this and I'm like,
well, just bring a stroller.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
You this and I'm like well, just bring a stroller,
you don't have to have a kid.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Well, I mean, so we rent a stroller, so I can rent a
stroller for you, okay?
Speaker 3 (34:18):
so I always get a double stroller sometimes.
So my oldest is six she's gonnabe seven in August and then my
youngest is four okay, sosometimes they're to the age
where they kind of like to getup and walk around.
Well, we just put all of ourluggage in the stroller and just
push it around.
Sometimes they get tired.
I always advise to get astroller no matter the age.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
How much is the stroller rental?
Speaker 3 (34:42):
It really depends, usually for about a week a
single stroller.
You're looking at around $100.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Okay, that's totally worth it and you just pick it up
from whatever park you go in,right?
Speaker 3 (34:51):
Well, you can rent from Disney, so the company that
I use.
They will actually drop it offat your resort, and so when you
check, in, but that's yours forthe week.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
That's nice and it's a Bob's stroller, I mean they're
nice, they fold up, not ricketyor anything like that.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
I always rent the stroller and have it waiting for
me.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Okay, that's Okay.
That's nice to know.
You kind of got us off on ourfood, calvin.
Okay, I do got one morequestion about the food, the
dining plans.
I don't understand that because, like I said, they didn't offer
that when we went.
So tell us about that and doyou do the dining plan yourself?
Speaker 3 (35:24):
So I'm actually doing the dining plan for the first
time myself in June.
So we're going for a week inJune, and so they have two
different options.
It's either quick service orthe dining.
Okay.
So with the quick service youget two quick service meals, and
that's going to be like yourCasey's Corners where you get
hot dogs.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Which is fantastic?
Oh yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
That's on the main street.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Right there you can see Magic King.
Yes, we went in there.
I remember that.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Yes, so it's going to be all your quick service that
you can order through your app.
Okay, so you get two quickservice meals.
You get one snack and then youget one resort refillable mug.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
And that is per person, per night you're staying
.
So if you're staying fournights, each of you have four
credits worth of snacks to use,okay, and it actually expires
the day that you check out, okay, so by midnight.
So that is the quick service,dining, the dining service.
(36:26):
You get one quick service, onetable service, one snack and
then resort refill now you stillhave to use like your
reservations, like on the app.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
Is that what you would do with the dining service
?
Can you do that?
Or do you have to just show upand say, hey, I need a table?
Speaker 3 (36:41):
um, for the table service it is recommended to
have reservations.
Okay, uh, depending on the time, sometimes I've been able to
get reservations while I'm there.
So in march on a whim, we werelike, hey, let's sit down and
eat and calm down, and so I waslooking.
A lot of the reservations weretaken but we lucked up and we
(37:04):
got Garden Grill at Epcot, whichis character dining, and it was
fabulous.
I usually recommend, if you'regoing to do multiple sit-down
restaurants, it's going to saveyou some money to just go ahead
and do the dining plan.
We are doing the dining plan inJune and we are eating at Ohana
(37:30):
, which is character dining.
We are eating at Cinderella'sRoyal Table.
Okay.
Where else are we going?
Cape Mays, we're going to dothe Fantasmic Dinner Package,
and so we'll eat at one of thoserestaurants and then Topolino's
Terrace.
So we are doing five characterdining experiences Wow, so we
(37:57):
are doing all we're doing fivecharacter dining experiences wow
, and it was just an extra.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
It's going to vary depending on your party size and
stuff like that, but it onlycosts us an extra five hundred
dollars okay which, if youimagine like sitting down at a
restaurant with a family of four, you're going to wind up paying
80 bucks easy, anywhere you gonowadays for a full meal, full
service yes, so that's reallynot that bad, for you know, four
or five different meals alltogether with character dining
(38:23):
and reservations and all thatand this, the their dining plan,
is a way to turn disney into anall-inclusive trip right look,
because if you're booking,you're going ahead and paying
for it.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
All you have to do is show your that's true, I mean.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
So it's already paid for it's you're not gonna have
to bring as much spending money.
You know, it would just be likefor souvenirs or whatever,
right?
Okay, that's interesting tothink about.
Um.
Now next question do you haveto have a dining plan to be able
to do the character dining?
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Okay, so, like I said in March, we got a last-minute
dinner reservation at GardenGrill.
Okay, I will tell you, for afamily of four it was close to
$300.
Wow, okay, okay, so you'relooking at a minimum of $60 per
adult.
You're pretty much paying forcharacter.
Yes, yes, my kids love it, Ilove it.
(39:17):
It's um, but it's a buffetstyle dinner at most, character
interaction okay reservations,because they're just bringing
you food, and just bringing itand so, and if you want more,
you ask for more.
We want more cornbread yeah wegot more cornbread right, and so
You're not really hurting forfood.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Okay, that's good, because I know too a lot of
times people will be like, well,I don't want to sit down and
eat because I want to ride asmany rides as I can.
But I really think you justhave to think about what's your
goal in this trip, because youcould book one trip at one time
and your goal would be different, like I want to ride everything
.
And then your next trip wouldbe like, like I want to be more
(39:58):
leisurely, I want to have morecharacter dining, and really I
mean that's where you step inand you're like, hey, I can help
you meet whatever it is thatyou're wanting to experience out
of this trip people start offand they do not want the dining
plan because that sticker priceis very yes, yes it is very
shocking, I will say.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
But then when they start sitting down and talking
about their wish list of wherethey want to eat and what they
want to experience, I'm likewell you're gonna be best to
consider, I'm never gonna pushany kind of plan on people right
but when I look and see ifthey're wanting to sit down at
four different restaurants, hey,you probably want to consider
(40:36):
the dining yes, and weigh youroptions out.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
And didn't you say the promo now is for?
Speaker 3 (40:42):
2026 yes you purchase a dining plan for adults.
You can, you're kidsy freethat's what.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
That's great.
Now, what is the age limit onthe kid?
It ages three to nine okay,right, that's good to know.
All right, do you have any morequestions about food or do you
have anything to add about food?
Speaker 2 (41:05):
I was just thinking about.
There's a lot of randomnessthat happens on a trip that you
can't plan on.
What are some of the most oddscenarios?
Because you always think ofsomeone losing luggage or things
like that what are some.
As a travel travel agent, haveyou had any experiences where
you've like someone had astruggle and they've reached out
to you like hey, what aboutthis?
Because you know, like you werejust talking, holly, a minute
(41:26):
ago about like we had a day thatwe were going to have a break
in there and we're like we needto push this day up to a
different one because we're likeexhausted.
And then we had that moment tokind of recoup and it was
fantastic and our agent was likeboom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
We're done.
And this was.
We reached out to her like nineo'clock at night.
You know we weren't sure if thiswas actually going to happen
and she made it happen.
It's like I see you as thatrole, Like people would reach
(41:51):
out to you in the midst of acrisis or in the midst of like
you hear the stories of funnythings that happen.
You know what are some funnythings that happen, or some
crises that you've solved, likebeing an agent so far so far
there hasn't been um anythingtoo crazy.
Speaker 3 (42:04):
I know I've had a client at disney and they none
of their pictures were uploadingfrom memory maker so I just
told him, I said go ahead, I'llhandle this I think I had it
fixed in about 10 minutes, wow,and so that is a perk of using a
travel agent when you havesomething like that go wrong,
all you have to do is call me,text me and you go on with your
(42:25):
life and enjoy your time.
And it doesn't take away fromyour family.
It doesn't take away frommemories because I'm handling it
on the back end and it reallydoesn't take that much time.
With cruises there has beensome, maybe some passport or
wrong identification, birthdaysand issues like that.
Um again, it was something thatwas easily fixed on my end
(42:48):
right.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
I think that they're easy to work with, right?
I mean, they're yeah, and thatmakes it so much better.
Um, I do have one question,because when we went they were
still doing I don't know whatthe bus was called, but it would
pick you up from the airportand it's a magical express and
it doesn't do that anymore.
So what do y'all?
What do you do if you're at theairport?
How do you get to Disney?
Speaker 3 (43:07):
so that is something else that I can actually book
for you, okay, um, I try to.
When I'm planning a Disney tripfor my clients, I try to make
it as little.
I tell people I can do aslittle or as much as you want me
to sure and so from strollerrental from getting from to and
(43:28):
from the airport, disney hasvery.
They have various modes of Ishouldn't say modes various
companies to go to and from theairport.
Gotcha and it is Mears.
Mears is what has replacedDisney's Magical Express.
Unfortunately, it's notcomplimentary Gotcha Like
(43:50):
Magical Express once was.
But, there's also privatetransportation.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Okay, so what do you do as a family?
Speaker 3 (43:57):
We do private transportation, okay, so that's
what you would recommend then soyou're not waiting on a
schedule right right right, um,the last time that we did
mirrors because I stayed at avalue resort it probably took us
about almost close to two hoursto get to our resort, and
that's just not something youwant to wait, no, no, no, give
me to disney, yes there's sometransportation services that
(44:19):
will actually take you to a parkwhen you get there and then
bring your luggage back to yourresort.
Wow, some of them will have.
They'll let you go get water.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
They'll do a grocery pickup so there's many options
yes what you're wanting to usenow I know, when we went to, uh
like, our check-in wasn't untillike later that day, but we got
an early flight so that we couldgo ahead and expect, like
Disney Springs um, that's a.
You don't have to have a ticketto get into Disney Springs.
It's basically like a shoppingarea, but it's.
(44:51):
It's just this.
You want to experience that too.
It's a great place to go.
So we, we wanted to do that,and but our, our hotel or our
resort, took our luggage andheld it for us.
It was just, and we also had agrocery order that we put in.
They took care of all that forit.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
It's just, it's amazing they take care of it.
I like to call it the disneydifference.
Yes, when we were there inmarch, we were standing in line
for a rock and roller coasterand I look around at some of the
people that are working in theparks and it was morning so
there was dew on the benches anddew on the garbage cans and
there were people wiping thatdew off and cleaning it and
(45:28):
making it dry.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
Wow, really yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
Who thinks of that?
Speaker 1 (45:32):
That's amazing, that's good and that's what
you're paying for.
Yes, it may be a sticker shock,but it's going to be the best
hands down experience that youhave in a vacation and you may
be exhausted, but it's all worthit.
Tell us a little bit about thecruise line.
Speaker 3 (45:50):
So the cruise line, that industry is actually
picking up a lot.
Ok, because what they've reallydone is taken park experiences
and they put it on a boat.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
OK.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
You still get character interactions.
Nice, there's still experienceslike water slides on the boat
so there's a lot to do there.
Um again, that's a stickerprice shock for a lot of people
yeah but what I have learned isthat the sticker price, if it's
up, there's probably moreinclusions than maybe a more
budget-friendly.
Because, with budget-friendly.
(46:24):
If the sticker price is lower,you usually have to add a drink
package or Wi-Fi or anythinglike that there's going to be
hidden costs in there.
Speaker 1 (46:32):
Yes, so with.
Speaker 3 (46:33):
Disney.
They have two private islandsnow Castaway Cay and the
Lighthouse.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (46:40):
I forgot the name of it Lookout Cay.
Okay, I forgot the name of itLookout Cay.
Okay, and that's their newestprivate.
Speaker 1 (46:46):
Where are those at?
Speaker 3 (46:48):
The Bahamas area.
Speaker 1 (46:49):
Okay, Bahamas Okay.
Speaker 3 (46:50):
And so there's actually a 5K trail.
Oh nice, they do have abarbecue buffet.
So with Disney, everybody gets24-hour room service.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (47:03):
People say to you know, order the Mickey-shaped
ice cream.
Yeah, yeah, they have theendless soft-serve ice cream.
Oh, wow.
You don't have to purchase adrink package.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
Of course, alcoholic drinks are not included in the
price Right, right but sodas,regular coffees.
That's included in your priceat Disney.
Nice we're going on a Disneycruise in December.
That's the girls' Christmaspresent, okay, and so we're
going, and literally the onlything that we're going to have
to add on to our cost is theWi-Fi package, and that's just
because my husband works 24-7.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
He's got to be accessible Right.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
Wow.
That is all we're having to addon.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Is this going to be your first time on the cruise
line?
Speaker 3 (47:44):
It will be my first time with Disney Cruise Line.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
Okay, all right, so we've got the parts, we've got
the cruise line.
Is there anything else?
Disney that I don't know.
Have you been to Disneyland?
Speaker 3 (47:52):
I have not, but I'm wanting to go.
Yeah, for the Oogie Boogie Bash, yeah, yeah.
So Disneyland, I believe, ispretty underrated.
It's the original.
Mm-hmm.
And so they have.
Even though it's smaller, it'sgoing to be a different
experience than Disney World,and I think that's where a lot
of people go wrong, and that'swhere they experience their
(48:14):
disappointment with Disneylandis they expect it to be Disney
World?
Right, but it's still a disneyexperience just different right
disney world.
They have the incrediblesroller coaster, they have
toontown right.
Speaker 1 (48:30):
So it may be, uh, I always imagine it just being a
little bit more smaller and moreintimate, yes, um, but they are
going to have things that areinclusive to them, that you'll
never get their experienceunless you actually go there,
which I've never been tocalifornia, no, anyways.
Speaker 3 (48:44):
But well, you can actually purchase the lightning
lanes within your package reallywith disneyland I don't know
why it's different but it is.
Speaker 1 (48:52):
I'm sure they've got some kind of reasoning on that
yeah.
Do you have any uh, extraquestions that you would like to
ask?
Speaker 2 (48:59):
no, I, I think this is just awesome.
I think that you know everyoneit's probably Disney would
probably be the hardest to planon your own.
You know most vacations thatyou would go on.
A lot of times you can figureit out Like, if I'm going to the
beach, you basically got tofigure out, hey, kind of where
do we want to be, what kind of,what kind of resort or hotel or
whatever we want to be in, andare we going to drive or are we
(49:21):
going to fly?
That's pretty much it.
But then, like disney, there'sso much to think about and and
having an agent to be able tokind of handle that, and I like
that, um, like you don't makeany more money, whether or not
someone has a higher package,lower pack.
You know like you're notpushing something on someone,
you're just basically helpingthem make their journey easier
yes and I think it's importantto do that.
(49:43):
But, like my, my main thought islike, when you have your kids
and they're young, experiencelife.
You know, experience things.
If disney's in that world foryou, then do it.
If it's not, then experienceother things you know, just get
out there and enjoy time withthem, because that that time is
just fleeting your kids.
You.
You turn around and Jude'sstarting to drive now and it's
(50:04):
like when did this happen?
So just experience life as muchas you can with your kids.
That's what I would justencourage each of our listeners
and if you decide to do Disney,find you an agent.
Speaker 1 (50:15):
Yes, For sure.
I got another question.
I'm sorry guys, I'm squirrelingbut Universal.
I'm sorry guys, I'm squirrelingbut Universal.
Do you plan trips for Universal?
Speaker 3 (50:23):
I actually can plan anything, so that's the most
common question I get.
Speaker 1 (50:27):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (50:28):
Do you just do Disney .
I do not do just Disney, I doUniversal.
You know, there's a Universalin California as well.
Speaker 1 (50:35):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (50:35):
I do all-inclusive resorts.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (50:38):
I do cruises, all cruise lines.
Mm-hmm of resorts.
Okay, I do cruises, all cruiselines, so I can do domestic
travel.
So if you're wanting to go toNew York, I've done a road trip.
I just recently booked a roadtrip for a group of six people.
They're going to road tripthrough California Nice, so I
booked that for them.
Okay, so I can really do almostjust about anything.
Speaker 1 (51:01):
Now I had a friend that their first Disney trip.
I'm trying to imagine how crazythis would have been.
She has three children, but Ithink they had a good experience
.
But they did Disney andUniversal at the same time and I
think they did a couple of daysat Disney and then a couple of
days at Universal.
So if someone was wanting to dothat, because they might be
pressed for time, they justmight be like we've got to
(51:22):
experience it all in this amountof days.
What parks in Disney would yourecommend the most?
If they're like I can only dotwo, let's say that they're just
like.
I want you to pick because Idon't know.
Speaker 3 (51:39):
I would first take into consideration the age of
the kids and what kind of thrillthey're looking for.
Honestly, I think if it was twodays, I would recommend a
two-day park hopper.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (51:51):
Because in case they want to ride Tron, for example.
But Hollywood Studios is goingto have a little bit more of
your thrill it's Hollywood Towerof Terror.
Rockin'.
Roller Coaster.
So there's Slinky Dog.
That's not really a thrill ride, but it's a popular ride.
Then you've got your Star Wars.
So if you have older kids,especially Star Wars fans.
Speaker 1 (52:13):
Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (52:13):
Studios.
Epcot is just a classic.
Speaker 1 (52:17):
I just keep going back to Epcot, me too.
My kids love.
Speaker 3 (52:20):
Magic Kingdom.
We end up at Magic Kingdomevery single day.
Yes, Just because we love MagicKingdom.
And that's a staple point forDisney World is the castle.
Speaker 1 (52:29):
Sure yes.
Speaker 3 (52:32):
I would just really look at the age of the kids and
their interests, because I havehad people look at split stays
and kind of weigh their optionsout.
Speaker 1 (52:42):
Are there packages for people to stay on resort for
Disney and stay on resort forUniversal?
Speaker 3 (52:49):
Oh, girl, I can do that.
We can make anything happen.
Whatever your hearts desire, wecan make it happen.
I would honestly suggest thatbecause, like Disney, universal
has their perks too of stayingon their property.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Yes, and Universal has all the Harry Potter, like
we're Potterheads.
Yeah, we absolutely love it andhonestly, we've said that we
would probably go there againbefore we went to Disney because
our trip got cut short.
Just family stuff that happened.
Speaker 3 (53:20):
Well, now Epic's open Epic Universe.
Speaker 1 (53:21):
Yes, and like we're dying to try that out.
Speaker 3 (53:25):
I mean, what they've done with Epic is unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (53:28):
Now, does it cost people for you to give them
quotes?
I mean, obviously you don'twant to waste someone's time if
you're really not interested intaking a trip, but is it free to
get a quote?
Speaker 3 (53:39):
Yes, and when I work up a quote specifically for any
package?
Really, I will do abudget-friendly a moderate, and
then I will do a deluxe.
Speaker 1 (53:51):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (53:52):
So I give you three.
For Universal and Disney World.
You get three hotel choices.
I tell you what I've included.
I like to start like I willalways include a photo package
yep, I agree, you need it that'sessential, but unless you have
specified park hopper, not parkhopper a lot of times when
(54:12):
people reach out to me, I askthem the basic questions so I
know what kind of quote to workup okay, yeah, so it as a park
hopper, is that more expensive?
Yes, but it's a solid price.
Speaker 1 (54:25):
I thought so that's awesome.
Did you have anything else?
No, I'm good.
Thank you for joining us today.
We might have you back so wecan talk about things that are
not Disney and talk more aboutcruises.
I know my mom was speaking awhile ago.
She was like, could she book usa trip out west, because we've
(54:46):
always wanted to tour thenational parks and things, and
I'm like I think she can, sothat would be a really cool
topic to talk about and just,guys, get out there, explore
God's wonderful creation that hegave us.
We have some beautiful spotshere in the United States to
visit and Caitlin here can setyou up so that you can see them
(55:07):
all.
So join us next time.
We pray that the Lord willbless you and keep you and make
his face to shine upon you.
We'll see you next time.
Hey guys and welcome back to the Running on Coffee
and Cries podcast.
We are so excited to be herefor episode 14.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yep, episode 14.
So we've got a special episode.
This time we're going to betalking to a travel agent about
traveling and I like, why are wetalking about traveling on
Running, on Coffee and Criespodcast?
But it's just important tothink about.
You know, family time, familytime where you get together.
You get to experience differentthings that we have in this and
Christ podcast, but it's justimportant to think about.
You know, family time, familytime where you get together.
You get to experience differentthings that we have in this
life and a lot of runs that yougo on.
(00:32):
You know, when your runningjourney progresses, you wind up
traveling to be able to run.
There's a lot of people that goplaces to run and you know we
can hit on that with.
There's a run at this placethat we're going to talk about
today, but we're just excited tobe able to have this time to be
able to talk about it and justthink about all the things that
we're going to be doing.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes.
So today we're specificallygoing to be talking about
planning your vacation to DisneyWorld.
If you haven't been, youprobably at least want to go
once in your life.
And today we have an expertwith us.
Her name is Caitlin Seibert.
I am so excited.
Thank you for joining us today.
So, caitlin, will you tell us alittle bit about yourself and
(01:13):
what it is that you do?
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Okay, Thank you for having me first You're welcome.
So I'm Caitlin Seibert.
My full-time day job is I'm amath teacher at Wallace State,
I'm at the Oneonta campus, okay,but one of my biggest passions
is traveling and, like y'all,I'm very passionate with
traveling, and traveling with myfamily and exposing
(01:37):
specifically my girls todifferent areas, different
things to do, and so for a whilenow, I've been planning trips
for my family, okay, and lastsummer they finally talked me
into becoming a travel agent.
So now I am an independenttravel advisor with Disarella
(01:57):
Travel Company Okay, where wespecialize in many destinations,
but specifically Disney Okay,disney Cruise Line, disney World
, disneyland.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
There's so much with Disney, right?
Yes, probably a lot more than Ieven know.
You can't get it done in onetrip.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
I've not as many times as I've visited, and I've
been going since I was 18, Ihave still not done everything I
want to do Just give us aroundabout number.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
How many times do you think you've been?
Oh Are.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Give us a roundabout number.
How many times do you thinkyou've been?
Oh Are we in the teens, or arewe?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
We might be in the teens.
Wow, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Now I went once when I was a child, like two, and I
don't remember that and that'swhen it was new, because when
did it come out?
In the 80s, I mean, like Ithink it was, I'm not sure
Anyway, but I did go then.
And then I went once in highschool with like the band or
whatever, and then we went as afamily and honestly we have said
(02:53):
that's one of the best tripsthat we've ever taken.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Unless you've been there, you don't really
understand the magic bubble.
It's true.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And you sense it from the minute you enter that
Waltalt disney world.
I agree, it's a bubble of justhappiness, and I don't think it
matters the age, like because wehave our son gosh.
When was that that we went 2021?
Or 2022, anyway, I know how oldhe looked yeah, I think he was
probably 12 or so and then ourgirl was like four and they both
had.
We had an amazing time together.
(03:28):
You don't have one kid thatfeels left out.
You know, it's just.
It's just good.
I can't explain it like that foreverybody yes, the older ones
even like doing what the youngerkids are doing and the younger
kid, yeah, it's just great.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Um, and the park itself um, I've noticed with
most parks they they accommodate, you know, younger kids with
multiple parents.
You know, like the with the kidsshare whatever that kids swap
where the parents come um, butdisney, I think they really do
that um, above and beyond, likewhat some of the other parks
we've been to, the way that theyhandle that and they, they
really put you as a priority.
(04:02):
Um, because you know so one ofyour parents is going to wait in
line for that long time andthen they want you to also reap
the benefits, so like they putyou at the front, you know,
automatically, because someonein your family waited a really
long time to ride that ride, theother parent shouldn't have to
wait as well.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And they do a really good job of that.
But yeah, like I said, bothkids were entertained the entire
time.
And but yeah, like I said, bothkids were entertained the
entire time.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And it feels so safe.
Yes, like that's one thing thatreally stuck out to me,
especially being a mom.
You know, like I felt like not,maybe, so then let my
12-year-old go off by himself,but I would definitely let my
15-year-old go off by himselfwith some friends.
Like that feels safe to me, andlike you have your stroller and
(04:48):
you just push it up to thisother wad of strollers and
you're not worried in the leastbit that somebody's going to
steal everything that you have.
People are watching.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yes, undercover people that are.
See, that's so cool.
There was somebody um speakingof safety.
We were waiting in line athollywood studios for um, donald
and daisy, okay, and when theycame out, I believe that
somebody behind us that was notpart of our party they were
actually recording Donald andDaisy coming out, but somebody
caught on to my kids being intheir video.
(05:13):
And they handled it sobeautifully, but they stopped
them from recording and had themmake sure that they weren't
getting other people's childrenin the video.
That is so above Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Wow, wow, okay, so I know that I think the number one
question what is the number onequestion people ask you when it
comes to Disney Planning thetrip?
I know to me, the first thing Iwould want to know is how much
is it going to cost me?
Yes, and the budget like arethere different price points
(05:46):
that you can?
Can you do this budget friendlyand still have a really good
time?
And obviously I know thatthere's the ceiling is endless
on how much you could spend.
But uh, why don't you walk usthrough that whole when someone
is getting a quote from you fora trip, um, what that looks like
price point wise.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Okay.
So, first off, the only reasonI get to go as many times as I
do is because I am about budgetfriendly.
So, Disney does a great job.
They have good neighbor hotels.
They have what's called valueresorts.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
That is your all-star and I love the all-star resorts
.
I've stayed at them.
It's all-star sports, all-starmovies and all-star, and I love
the all-star resorts.
I've stayed at them it'sall-star sports, all-star movies
and all-star music.
Okay, music is our favoritebecause it has family suites
there, which is a little bitpricier.
Okay, they also have thefavorite.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
My two most booked is probably pop century and
all-star I mean not all-star artof animation okay, I believe we
stayed there art of animationis unreal, like absolutely
unreal.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Pop century is probably um my top favorite
value resort okay because artand pop have access to skyliner,
okay, so if you want to say low, low end and just because I say
low end, I mean low end pricerange yes, I don't mean low end
quality.
It is not it's not.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I can attest to that.
Because we stayed at art ofanimation, I would stay there
again.
100.
It still felt so.
It felt luxurious to me.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
You know, okay, I mean, that's where we stayed,
many, many times yeah um, but Itry to tell people to expect per
person to at least spendsomewhere around a thousand
dollars per person.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, a thousand to a fifteen how length of a stay
would that be?
Speaker 3 (07:37):
um, probably three, four nights okay I would not
suggest anything under that,unless you were going for a
specific reason.
Okay.
But the value resorts, theall-star.
You have transportation.
So one perk of staying on aresort at Disney is
transportation, complimentarytransportation, and so we always
(08:00):
fly down.
That's just something that webudget for.
We have driven before and itwasn't terrible Some of my
clients drive down and that'sjust something that we budget
for.
We have driven before and itwasn't terrible.
Yeah, some of my clients drivedown and that's fine, but I
don't want to drive to the parks.
I don't want to try to handleany of that, sure, um, when
you're staying at the all-starresorts, you can get on the
buses, okay, and they'll takeyou.
But when you stay at popcentury or art of animation, you
(08:22):
have access to this skylinewhich which I loved.
I love this.
That's probably anon-negotiable for me, sure.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
This Skyliner, I agree.
It's a ride all in itself.
It is You're just in a littlebucket.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
It's private to you and your family and it takes you
directly to Epcot or HollywoodStudios.
So if you're staying at pop orart of animation, you only need
the bus for animal kingdom ormagic kingdom, and so I will pay
for convenience yes, I agree,because that's what helps.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Makes the trip more enjoyable to me is having that
convenience.
Um, so what are some of themore pricey?
So what are some of the more?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
pricey options.
There's also moderate resorts.
That's going to be like yourCaribbean Beach, which also has
Skyliner access.
Okay.
So you have those options ofyour moderate resorts that are
kind of in between Port Orleans.
That's a favorite for myclients.
But then you have your deluxe.
Okay, so I will be experiencingmy first deluxe this summer,
(09:26):
yay yay wow, um, I will bestaying at beach club.
So the reason I chose beachclub is because you can walk
into epcot nice epcot is one ofour favorite resort we love it
too.
Yes, but you walk directly inokay and it will take you the
back, which is where Ratatouilleis located, mm-hmm.
(09:48):
But you also have access to theSkyliner from Beach Club.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
So that is why we chose Beach Club.
So now?
Speaker 1 (09:55):
does the Skyliner only go to Epcot and Hollywood
Studios?
Do they think that they'regoing to expand the Skyliner
transportation?
Do they even have the footprintto do that?
I don't even know.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Not that I know of.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
You haven't heard any talk of that.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
There's several resorts, the Riviera.
You can hop on the Skyliner.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
The Caribbean.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Beach.
You can hop on the Skyliner.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
I'm trying to think if there's another, so is the
only way to get to AnimalKingdom and Magic Kingdom from
anywhere by bus.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Actually no.
You can also stay at a deluxeresort.
I'll be doing this in the fall.
Okay, Now I go.
It's part of my job.
I have to experience this.
That's right, that's right,we're going to stay at the
Polynesian Resort.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
You have your deluxe resorts in each resort area, so
I chose Epcot resort area forJune.
Okay, this fall we're going tobe staying at a Magic Kingdom
okay deluxe resort, which is thePolynesian nice.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
So you have the monorail that runs through those
contemporary Grand Floridianand Polynesian, so it'll run
there and it runs from magickingdom to epcot, okay I had
thought, like when we, when westayed there, I remember there
was the option to do parkjumping and that if you were
staying in one of those type ofresorts where you had that tram
(11:17):
system between the two, it'd bevery convenient to just hop and
pop, you know, like hop in oneplace, go see another.
If you're going for specificevents or specific like concerts
and things have you park hopped.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
I am a park hopper to me that's not a non-essential.
Usually if I have first timepeople that are visiting disney
world and they're overwhelmed byeverything they want to do, I
say it's perfectly fine to spendone day per park.
Yes, that there is nothingwrong with not getting a park
hopper.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
And that's what we did.
We did four days, four parks.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
I do a park hopper because I like to watch the wait
times at other parks Uh-huh.
And if a wait time at MagicKingdom is lower than wait times
that I'm experiencing at mycurrent park, I'm going to park
hop.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Specifically, I love park hopping from Epcot to Magic
Kingdom because of the monorailaccess Okay.
I love park hopping back andforth between Hollywood Studios
and Epcot because of theSkyliner.
So it's a quick little 10, 15minute Right, hardly no wait.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
That's awesome.
So I mean, if there's a waitline that's like 90 minutes at
one place and then 30 minutes atthe other and it takes 15
minutes to get there.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
You can ride two rides for the cost of one or for
the time of one.
Yeah, yeah, essentially yes.
So basically your budget can goanywhere from.
You're really paying forconvenience, like how convenient
do you want this trip to becorrect?
Speaker 3 (12:38):
um you turn it into what you want it to be right
when I'm quoting anon-negotiable to me.
I can negotiate on resort, Ican negotiate on park hopper,
but one absolute non-negotiablethat I always advise people to
do is to get the memory makeryes I mean the, the pictures
that come with memory maker Iagree fantastic, there's
(13:00):
photographers all over the parksor photo ops.
You can experience it.
You can enjoy watching yourkids with their meet and greets
and you can just watch and soakit in, because there's somebody
snapping pictures continuously.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Right, and do you just like you don't?
I'm trying to remember therewas like a watch or a band or
something that we wore.
Is that they like?
Scan your band?
Yes, and that's how theyidentify what pictures are with
what family, and it's like allthat is on the same exact
account, like you're able tojust log in and see everything
that had to do with your tripand it's all under that, so you
(13:35):
don't have to carry your walletor anything.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
It's just that everything and I think that's
why I love disney much.
It was just so customer focused, like they really want to make
this trip just enjoyable, youknow?
I mean you really feel likewhen I got there I didn't leave
thinking, man, I just spent aton of money and I wish I had.
You know, it's like let's do itagain.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
You know I'm planning my next trip.
Before we make a plan.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yes, yes.
So guys there are, and when itcomes to the budget, even you
might be thinking gosh, $1,000 aperson.
I've got five people in myfamily that still, you know,
$5,000 I've got to come up with.
But how far in advance can youbook your trip so that you can,
you know, be making paymentsslowly towards that?
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Well, Disney just opened their 2026 dates.
Okay, disney just opened their2026 dates.
So if you're wanting to startpaying and book a trip, it is
always my advice to book early.
Okay, all it takes to confirmyour Disney reservation is a
$200 deposit.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Okay, well, that's not much at all, okay.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
And if you have to alter.
I have many clients that wantto go a specific month, but then
some unexpected things come up.
They can't go that month.
All I have to do is have manyclients that want to go a
specific month, but then someunexpected things come up.
They can't go that month all Ihave to do is call and fix it
and we bump it back, okay, andwe bump it.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
I mean, disney is very accommodating I will say
this is kind of a sidebar, butwhile we were on our trip we had
I'm trying to think what we hadhollywood studios and magic
kingdom back to back and we werelike we're exhausted.
So we felt like we were able tocall our agent and be like, can
we swap our part day?
(15:13):
Like can we move the day thatwe were going to be at magic
kingdom?
Can we do animal kingdom?
We needed a slower day and thatwas so easy to do and like we
didn't even have to sweat it atall.
She took care of it and youdon't have to pay for your
services either, do you?
Does Disney give you something?
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Yes, so it does not matter if you book a Disney
vacation with or without atravel agent.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
There is, you're still.
That price is still.
It's not going to change.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Right, and you can look.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
I've had people that are like I have found this for
this price, can you do this?
And I do it.
Yes, so that it's not like, um,you're not, it's not right and
like.
So it's not going to cost youextra to have these experts and
literally they're experts.
She's been so many times.
She knows the tips, tricks, youknow.
Uh, she's gonna get the bestdeal for you and I watch for
promos right um, disney is verygood about releasing some sort
of promo right now.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
The promo for 2026 is when you buy dining plan, your
kids dining plan is free.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Oh yeah, nice things we were going to talk about we
are, we're gonna.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
I don't want, I don't want to hit it yet because
there's, I mean the fooddeserves its own topic we could
do a whole episode on disney, Ifeel like.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
But now when we went it was covid.
They did not have any diningplans and we didn't get to do
any character meetups, so and westill had an amazing time, um,
okay, so we've talked aboutbudget and we did talk somewhat
about the lodging, all thedifferent places that you can
stay.
Correct me if I'm wrong isthere not camping options as
(16:52):
well?
Speaker 3 (16:53):
there is, there is a campground, um, they also have
dvc cabins.
It's the disney vacation club.
So okay, like a timeshare okay,a little bit, but they have
their brand new cabins, but theyalso they do have a campground.
Okay, and people love it too.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Yes, I've heard people doing that.
What do you think about peoplethat do stay off?
Speaker 3 (17:17):
I think if that's what works for your budget, I
think that that's fine to stayoff property.
But I think when you stay offproperty you're honestly losing
a little bit of that magic.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
I agree, I do, and are you really saving that much
money?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
well.
So you can't book a package.
So when you stay off ofproperty you're further away,
you're going to have to pay forparking, you're going.
So a perk of staying on resortis lightning lane reservations.
That is the old genie plus thatis the fast pass system.
So when you stay on resort youcan purchase and start booking
(17:59):
your lightning lanes seven daysin advance.
You don't get that luxury offresort.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Do you recommend buying lightning lanes?
Do you do it for certain?
Speaker 3 (18:10):
rides.
Okay.
So I will always, always,always pay $20 for the single
pass.
Lightning lane for Guardians ofthe Galaxy, okay.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
I will pay the $20 every day.
Okay, it is hands down myfavorite ride Okay.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
It's.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Cammie's favorite ride, mm-hmm.
We, like I said, I pay forconvenience.
Mm-hmm.
I don't want to stand in atwo-hour wait, right, so I would
much rather wait 10 minutes.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Two hours.
So I do purchase the singlepass lightning lanes.
The same for seven dwarfs.
Okay, I think that one's $14.
There's flight of passage.
I will always do a single passlightning lane.
Okay.
Multipass.
It really kind of depends onthe situation, on when I'm going
(18:56):
.
I personally do okay.
There's been maybe one or twodays in all of my trips where
I'm like I'm gonna risk it, okay, and that's usually when
there's an event.
So Magic Kingdom, mickey's Notso Scary Halloween Party yeah,
they close Magic Kingdom downearly at 6 pm yes so a lot of
people don't even go to magickingdom that day, so I'm not
(19:19):
going by multi-pass lightninglane for that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah, so that makes sense.
Less travel during the daytime,correct?
I did have one question,because we're talking about,
like, lodging before we move onfrom there.
But when it comes to theresorts and the camping and
different things like that, the,the resorts that you're calling
budget friendly, the ones Now,what I remember is we really
only just slept there.
I think we went to the pool acouple of times.
(19:43):
It wasn't the best temperaturetime of year for the pool.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
It was a little cool.
We went during Halloween timeyeah during Halloween.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
But as far as like the resorts, like when you move
to different resorts that arecloser to the park, do they have
actually more amenities?
If you said I just want a dayat the resort, are there other
things that the resort offersother than just a bed, tv and a
pool?
Speaker 3 (20:07):
So some places have the specialty dining.
Ohana is a favorite of people.
They love to have that diningexperience.
That is at the PolynesianResort so you can walk over.
Okay.
The Contemporary is where ChefMickey is located.
Okay, there is a steakhouselocated at Contemporary as well,
mm-hmm.
For Beach Club.
(20:29):
We're right next to Cape May'sBreakfast, okay, so a lot of the
resorts will have resort dining.
Okay, which?
You still have access to.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Okay, like you don't have to stay at that place to be
able to enjoy that dining.
You don't have to stay at that.
No, I gotcha.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
It's just the convenience of walking over.
If you do stay at a deluxeresort, you do get the privilege
of after hours or extra parkhours okay on select nights okay
, now correct me if I'm wrongtoo.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Like if you stay on resort period, you did you get
to enter the park early?
Speaker 3 (21:01):
early entry.
There is no way around that,because once you scan to get
into the park, they haveeverything blocked off and you
have to scan to get past them.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
For early entry.
Okay, and well and well.
No, I don't want to get tooahead of myself.
Okay, next topic when is thebest time to go?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
The best time to go is kind of subjective for your
personal goals for Disney, um,so lower wait times, obviously
July and August, that peopledon't want to go when it's hot
in.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Florida, so people will kind of avoid those times
because they don't want to gethot.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Right, I will, I'll deal with it yes.
Okay, I think Disney does agreat job of your wait times are
spent inside.
Okay, so, with a lot of therides.
Now there's some rides wherethey're outside, but as far as
heat, I'll brave the heat.
Yep, endure the lower waittimes.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
And we're here in Alabama.
It's not too far off the realmfrom us anyway.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
It's really not you.
Weather-wise, the most pleasantis probably going to be your
November to March-ish.
Okay.
We went this past March and theweather was fantastic.
Nice I've been in August whenit was hot Mm-hmm, it was fun.
(22:28):
Yeah.
I would really kind of avoidmajor holidays.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Okay, that's.
My next question is when is theworst time to go?
Speaker 3 (22:38):
So you probably do not want to go on Christmas Day.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
New.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Year's Day.
The parks have been known toclose down due to capacity on
those days.
My typical advice is you wantto avoid the school crowd?
Okay, so, when the school, whenschools are getting out for
Christmas, probably beforeChristmas is a good time.
(23:02):
Okay, so December, that firstcouple of weeks of December,
after the kids go back fromThanksgiving break Yep, and
right before they get out forThanksgiving, christmas break,
christmas break, uh-huh, yep,and right before they get out
for Thanksgiving, christmasbreak, uh-huh, yes.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
And you might be like my kid can't miss school.
Let your kids miss school.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Sorry, we uh.
I'm a teacher here.
I tend to pull my kids out acouple of days before a break.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
I mean, sometimes you just you gotta go when it works
for your family too, yes, Imean sometimes you just you
gotta go when it works for yourfamily too, yes, I mean.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
And your kids are really learning while they're
down?
Yes, they are.
You got living with the land.
That ride is underrated, yeah,okay I don't even know that ride
that is a epcot, but it'stalking about the vegetation of
all these locations yes, yes,yes, I do remember that good.
I mean, your kids learn a lot.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Or even the one where you're in the ball.
What is that ride?
Yes, oh, the communications one.
Yes.
Gosh, what is the name of thatride?
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Oh well, but they actually even in the living with
the land they had a coffeeplant there just sidebar.
You know they, you know theyhad a coffee plant going there
that actually had coffeecherries on it.
We were excited to see that ina full bloom.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Okay, so also talking about times to go, there is the
marathon and half marathon thatthey do there.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Can you tell us when they do that?
Okay, so they do marathonsfrequently, Okay so it's not
just one.
It's not just one.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
So they have the marathon weekend, which is in
January.
Okay, okay, so for 2026, that'sJanuary 7th through the 11th.
Unfortunately, that is sold out.
Oh already, yeah, so it is veryintense trying to get into
those races.
They usually sell out the dayregistration opens.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Wow, I didn't realize that.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
So you kind of have to be prepared, because it's a
bucket list thing, but I didn'trealize that.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Okay, that's good information to know.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
It's very intense, Like you have to have your mind
made up.
Okay, and you've got to be inthat queue ready to go.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
The one that's coming up this year, the last one, and
dine, and it is in october.
Okay, unfortunately it is soldout.
It's during the food and winefestival that's in epcot right.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yes, we went during that time frame.
That was really nice.
Yes, I love the food and winefestival.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Yes, so the disney princess half marathon?
Okay, that registration has notopened yet, but for next year
it's it's February 26th throughMarch 2nd.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Okay, and they offer different runs.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
They have the 5K, they have the 10K.
They have the half marathon.
Then they have what they call achallenge, so it's combining
some of those runs together.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Okay, Now where do they do these runs at Like what
park?
Or is it in multiple parks?
Speaker 3 (25:49):
It's in multiple locations.
So the, and then there is alsothe springtime surprise weekend.
Okay, so those registrationsfor the last two have not opened
yet.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Where do you find these registrations at?
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Run.
Disney is where you want tostart.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Okay, and you?
Speaker 3 (26:06):
can find all the information and the scheduling
at rundisneycom.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Okay, so would you advise, let's just pretend that
we're gonna run, okay, yes, um,we would need to get our
registration in for that andthen maybe book probably yes,
probably okay because parktickets and stay that is not
included.
With right the right okaybecause, I mean, I was just
(26:32):
saying you would want to makesure that if you to get in on
the race, that's the first thingthat you would need to do and
then take a trip, maybe theDisney Princess Half Marathon.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
that registration actually opens June 24th.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Okay, I need to write this down.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
We don't have to dress like a princess to run it,
though, right.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Some people do dress like a princess?
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Yeah, I think they do .
I think they do um, do you run,because I know that you work
out?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I like to think that I can run it but while I'm
running, I actually wonder whyI've done it to myself.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I actually do really want to run disney, though,
because I'm thinking too thatthere's not a lot of elevation
there.
I would love, yes, I would loveto participate in this and they
they actually have yoga ohreally yes at Hollywood Studios
now most of these resorts too.
I'm sure they have gyms insidethem, don't they?
Okay, that's good to know.
(27:30):
All right, let's move on tofood.
Okay, all right.
So you just mentioned, too, theFood and Wine Festival that
they have.
That happens once a year atEpcot.
Right, tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Okay, it runs August through mid-November.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
It is the International Food and Wine
Festival, so that is at Epcot.
That is my favorite festival.
This will be my third year in arow going to this festival,
yeah.
And they just have differentvendors set up and specialty
food representing each country.
Yes, it's great If you've neverbeen.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
I'm just going to speak for those that have never
been.
Epcot is you visit, like allthese different countries, like
that's the theme.
So it's like when you're in ohmy gosh, this isn't, I'm not
going to get into this but likewhen you're in England.
Is that where, like Alice inWonderland?
Speaker 3 (28:19):
is United Kingdom.
Okay, yes.
And then like France.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
You're going to find Ratatouille there and Remy the
Rod.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
And that Epcot's actually very underrated for
finding characters.
You've got to slow down and youwill find Jasmine, you will
find Belle, you will find AnnaSee, that's awesome, you can
only find Anna and Elsa at Epcot.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Oh see, those are good things to know, Because I
think people just automaticallyassume you need to go to Magic
Kingdom, where the castle is,and that's not true.
They might be in their homecountry.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Yes, yeah, now Epcot's set up, if I remember
right.
It's around a big body of water, correct?
Yes, correct.
If you look at it from the mapview it kind of looks like an
eight ball pen, but it's got ahuge body of water that you walk
all the way around and it'skind of like you're going around
the world Each area of the pie.
I guess if you were to divideit up into pies and so the food
(29:11):
for that festival caters tothose different areas also, and
then the music and theatmosphere and the floral and
fauna and everything about it isjust you're soaking in a
different atmosphere, everysingle, you know, every 20, 30
yards.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
You're entering a new world.
Yes, I know that I feel likeEpcot in general is underrated.
Like people will say, ifthey're going to skip a park,
they're going to skip Epcot, andI'm like what in the world?
Speaker 3 (29:35):
and we spend a full day at epcot we, we loved it too
.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
I mean, we were like about education for
homeschoolers yes yes and epcot.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
They have done a lot of updates and so, if you have
been the past couple of years,it was closed off and there was
fences up yes but it was fortheir renovations that they were
doing so now you can see mickeyand friends nice and you know
(30:05):
they have figment figmentsunderrated too we my kids love
figment, I don't know why butthey love figment and the things
that you learn I think, toothink there was a ride there
that my kids love, sore, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
And you're just sitting in this little it feels
like you're flying in this.
It's just great and it was airconditioned yes yes, yes, that's
, that's always when you want togo to, when you want to cool
off or get out of the car yes,so to me the food was great in
epcot, but there are certainsnacks that I think the general
public have knowledge of now,because everybody talked like
(30:40):
the dull whip, um.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
So what are some of those snacks that are most
popular at disney that you'relike, you gotta have this well,
my family were popcorn eaters,so if you have a so on day one
which, if you book with me, thisis also a prize that you have
waiting for you is a popcornbucket, okay, so all you have to
do is have that popcorn bucketand it costs like $2.50 to
(31:04):
refill.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
And so we snack on popcorn.
We have that with us prettymuch the entire time.
My kids love it.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
The Dole Whips that is a must for my kids.
Now, are these available in allof the parks?
Like, can you get Dole Whip atevery park?
Because I don't think you can,but I don't remember which ones
that you can.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Especially Dole Whips maybe but the original one is
at Magic Kingdom.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Now my favorite snack is at Sleepy Hollow.
Okay, and it is a nutellawaffle with oh we, we haven't
had that one.
Nice, they have beignets nextto tiana's so I mean you just
can't go wrong with some ofthose snacks I don't think so
either, and I think beignets areunderrated.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Yes, by far like if you want to you.
You want something that's goingto spike your sugar really
quick and be like, like, melt inyour mouth.
One of a good beignet is, Imean, it hits the spot so do you
?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
do?
They have some good ones withthat in epcot at probably in the
paris section maybe, or eventhe new orleans, oh yes we did
have the crepes.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
It's not just sweet crepes either, isn't it?
Yeah, it was like savory,savory crepes.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Yes and that's hidden .
That's like on your way toratatouille yes so I like to get
a crepe and then get in linefor ratatouille yes chocolate
kind of makes me feel betterabout waiting that line that
ratatouille ride is quite nicetoo.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
There's just something cute about getting in
that little rat.
It's just fun.
Yes, my favorite ride at epcotwas the uh on the frozen ride
though I love that little ride.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So speak on this.
If you're planning a familytrip, obviously you don't want
to spend all your money on food.
What are some things that thepark allows that you think are
best practices for children andkids, young ones, for being cost
effective and helping to havesnacks Are you allowed to bring
outside food and what are ourlimits on that?
To have snacks Are you allowedto bring outside food and what
are our limits?
Speaker 3 (32:54):
on that.
Okay, so I actually we all packour mugs, our Yeti mugs, or?
Whatever.
And what we like to do is welike to fill it up with ice the
night before.
Put it well if you have afridge, you put it in the
freezer.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
And so, and there's free water refills all across
the park.
Okay, so we don't drink anykind of drink drinks at the park
.
Okay, we take our mugs, and Iactually have a shoe holder that
I have cut and it is attachedto our stroller.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
And I mean it's just filled up with different mugs
and we refill our water at anywater refill, they'll give you a
cup of water.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
They'll give you a cup of ice.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
But as far as snacks go, we have snacks in our
backpack Cheez-Its, slim Jimscrackers.
We keep those kind of snackswith us.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
I think we even took those little Uncrustables with
us?
Speaker 3 (33:55):
They don't.
They're not.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Does anyone ever bring a stroller, even if they
don't have kids that are astroller age?
Speaker 3 (34:02):
I really think it's a great idea.
I do too.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
It was so convenient to have a stroller with our
little girl and it's like I'mgoing to miss this and I'm like,
well, just bring a stroller.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
You this and I'm like well, just bring a stroller,
you don't have to have a kid.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Well, I mean, so we rent a stroller, so I can rent a
stroller for you, okay?
Speaker 3 (34:18):
so I always get a double stroller sometimes.
So my oldest is six she's gonnabe seven in August and then my
youngest is four okay, sosometimes they're to the age
where they kind of like to getup and walk around.
Well, we just put all of ourluggage in the stroller and just
push it around.
Sometimes they get tired.
I always advise to get astroller no matter the age.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
How much is the stroller rental?
Speaker 3 (34:42):
It really depends, usually for about a week a
single stroller.
You're looking at around $100.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Okay, that's totally worth it and you just pick it up
from whatever park you go in,right?
Speaker 3 (34:51):
Well, you can rent from Disney, so the company that
I use.
They will actually drop it offat your resort, and so when you
check, in, but that's yours forthe week.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
That's nice and it's a Bob's stroller, I mean they're
nice, they fold up, not ricketyor anything like that.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
I always rent the stroller and have it waiting for
me.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Okay, that's Okay.
That's nice to know.
You kind of got us off on ourfood, calvin.
Okay, I do got one morequestion about the food, the
dining plans.
I don't understand that because, like I said, they didn't offer
that when we went.
So tell us about that and doyou do the dining plan yourself?
Speaker 3 (35:24):
So I'm actually doing the dining plan for the first
time myself in June.
So we're going for a week inJune, and so they have two
different options.
It's either quick service orthe dining.
Okay.
So with the quick service youget two quick service meals, and
that's going to be like yourCasey's Corners where you get
hot dogs.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Which is fantastic?
Oh yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
That's on the main street.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Right there you can see Magic King.
Yes, we went in there.
I remember that.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Yes, so it's going to be all your quick service that
you can order through your app.
Okay, so you get two quickservice meals.
You get one snack and then youget one resort refillable mug.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
And that is per person, per night you're staying
.
So if you're staying fournights, each of you have four
credits worth of snacks to use,okay, and it actually expires
the day that you check out, okay, so by midnight.
So that is the quick service,dining, the dining service.
(36:26):
You get one quick service, onetable service, one snack and
then resort refill now you stillhave to use like your
reservations, like on the app.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
Is that what you would do with the dining service
?
Can you do that?
Or do you have to just show upand say, hey, I need a table?
Speaker 3 (36:41):
um, for the table service it is recommended to
have reservations.
Okay, uh, depending on the time, sometimes I've been able to
get reservations while I'm there.
So in march on a whim, we werelike, hey, let's sit down and
eat and calm down, and so I waslooking.
A lot of the reservations weretaken but we lucked up and we
(37:04):
got Garden Grill at Epcot, whichis character dining, and it was
fabulous.
I usually recommend, if you'regoing to do multiple sit-down
restaurants, it's going to saveyou some money to just go ahead
and do the dining plan.
We are doing the dining plan inJune and we are eating at Ohana
(37:30):
, which is character dining.
We are eating at Cinderella'sRoyal Table.
Okay.
Where else are we going?
Cape Mays, we're going to dothe Fantasmic Dinner Package,
and so we'll eat at one of thoserestaurants and then Topolino's
Terrace.
So we are doing five characterdining experiences Wow, so we
(37:57):
are doing all we're doing fivecharacter dining experiences wow
, and it was just an extra.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
It's going to vary depending on your party size and
stuff like that, but it onlycosts us an extra five hundred
dollars okay which, if youimagine like sitting down at a
restaurant with a family of four, you're going to wind up paying
80 bucks easy, anywhere you gonowadays for a full meal, full
service yes, so that's reallynot that bad, for you know, four
or five different meals alltogether with character dining
(38:23):
and reservations and all thatand this, the their dining plan,
is a way to turn disney into anall-inclusive trip right look,
because if you're booking,you're going ahead and paying
for it.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
All you have to do is show your that's true, I mean.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
So it's already paid for it's you're not gonna have
to bring as much spending money.
You know, it would just be likefor souvenirs or whatever,
right?
Okay, that's interesting tothink about.
Um.
Now next question do you haveto have a dining plan to be able
to do the character dining?
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Okay, so, like I said in March, we got a last-minute
dinner reservation at GardenGrill.
Okay, I will tell you, for afamily of four it was close to
$300.
Wow, okay, okay, so you'relooking at a minimum of $60 per
adult.
You're pretty much paying forcharacter.
Yes, yes, my kids love it, Ilove it.
(39:17):
It's um, but it's a buffetstyle dinner at most, character
interaction okay reservations,because they're just bringing
you food, and just bringing itand so, and if you want more,
you ask for more.
We want more cornbread yeah wegot more cornbread right, and so
You're not really hurting forfood.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Okay, that's good, because I know too a lot of
times people will be like, well,I don't want to sit down and
eat because I want to ride asmany rides as I can.
But I really think you justhave to think about what's your
goal in this trip, because youcould book one trip at one time
and your goal would be different, like I want to ride everything
.
And then your next trip wouldbe like, like I want to be more
(39:58):
leisurely, I want to have morecharacter dining, and really I
mean that's where you step inand you're like, hey, I can help
you meet whatever it is thatyou're wanting to experience out
of this trip people start offand they do not want the dining
plan because that sticker priceis very yes, yes it is very
shocking, I will say.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
But then when they start sitting down and talking
about their wish list of wherethey want to eat and what they
want to experience, I'm likewell you're gonna be best to
consider, I'm never gonna pushany kind of plan on people right
but when I look and see ifthey're wanting to sit down at
four different restaurants, hey,you probably want to consider
(40:36):
the dining yes, and weigh youroptions out.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
And didn't you say the promo now is for?
Speaker 3 (40:42):
2026 yes you purchase a dining plan for adults.
You can, you're kidsy freethat's what.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
That's great.
Now, what is the age limit onthe kid?
It ages three to nine okay,right, that's good to know.
All right, do you have any morequestions about food or do you
have anything to add about food?
Speaker 2 (41:05):
I was just thinking about.
There's a lot of randomnessthat happens on a trip that you
can't plan on.
What are some of the most oddscenarios?
Because you always think ofsomeone losing luggage or things
like that what are some.
As a travel travel agent, haveyou had any experiences where
you've like someone had astruggle and they've reached out
to you like hey, what aboutthis?
Because you know, like you werejust talking, holly, a minute
(41:26):
ago about like we had a day thatwe were going to have a break
in there and we're like we needto push this day up to a
different one because we're likeexhausted.
And then we had that moment tokind of recoup and it was
fantastic and our agent was likeboom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
We're done.
And this was.
We reached out to her like nineo'clock at night.
You know we weren't sure if thiswas actually going to happen
and she made it happen.
It's like I see you as thatrole, Like people would reach
(41:51):
out to you in the midst of acrisis or in the midst of like
you hear the stories of funnythings that happen.
You know what are some funnythings that happen, or some
crises that you've solved, likebeing an agent so far so far
there hasn't been um anythingtoo crazy.
Speaker 3 (42:04):
I know I've had a client at disney and they none
of their pictures were uploadingfrom memory maker so I just
told him, I said go ahead, I'llhandle this I think I had it
fixed in about 10 minutes, wow,and so that is a perk of using a
travel agent when you havesomething like that go wrong,
all you have to do is call me,text me and you go on with your
(42:25):
life and enjoy your time.
And it doesn't take away fromyour family.
It doesn't take away frommemories because I'm handling it
on the back end and it reallydoesn't take that much time.
With cruises there has beensome, maybe some passport or
wrong identification, birthdaysand issues like that.
Um again, it was something thatwas easily fixed on my end
(42:48):
right.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
I think that they're easy to work with, right?
I mean, they're yeah, and thatmakes it so much better.
Um, I do have one question,because when we went they were
still doing I don't know whatthe bus was called, but it would
pick you up from the airportand it's a magical express and
it doesn't do that anymore.
So what do y'all?
What do you do if you're at theairport?
How do you get to Disney?
Speaker 3 (43:07):
so that is something else that I can actually book
for you, okay, um, I try to.
When I'm planning a Disney tripfor my clients, I try to make
it as little.
I tell people I can do aslittle or as much as you want me
to sure and so from strollerrental from getting from to and
(43:28):
from the airport, disney hasvery.
They have various modes of Ishouldn't say modes various
companies to go to and from theairport.
Gotcha and it is Mears.
Mears is what has replacedDisney's Magical Express.
Unfortunately, it's notcomplimentary Gotcha Like
(43:50):
Magical Express once was.
But, there's also privatetransportation.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Okay, so what do you do as a family?
Speaker 3 (43:57):
We do private transportation, okay, so that's
what you would recommend then soyou're not waiting on a
schedule right right right, um,the last time that we did
mirrors because I stayed at avalue resort it probably took us
about almost close to two hoursto get to our resort, and
that's just not something youwant to wait, no, no, no, give
me to disney, yes there's sometransportation services that
(44:19):
will actually take you to a parkwhen you get there and then
bring your luggage back to yourresort.
Wow, some of them will have.
They'll let you go get water.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
They'll do a grocery pickup so there's many options
yes what you're wanting to usenow I know, when we went to, uh
like, our check-in wasn't untillike later that day, but we got
an early flight so that we couldgo ahead and expect, like
Disney Springs um, that's a.
You don't have to have a ticketto get into Disney Springs.
It's basically like a shoppingarea, but it's.
(44:51):
It's just this.
You want to experience that too.
It's a great place to go.
So we, we wanted to do that,and but our, our hotel or our
resort, took our luggage andheld it for us.
It was just, and we also had agrocery order that we put in.
They took care of all that forit.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
It's just, it's amazing they take care of it.
I like to call it the disneydifference.
Yes, when we were there inmarch, we were standing in line
for a rock and roller coasterand I look around at some of the
people that are working in theparks and it was morning so
there was dew on the benches anddew on the garbage cans and
there were people wiping thatdew off and cleaning it and
(45:28):
making it dry.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
Wow, really yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
Who thinks of that?
Speaker 1 (45:32):
That's amazing, that's good and that's what
you're paying for.
Yes, it may be a sticker shock,but it's going to be the best
hands down experience that youhave in a vacation and you may
be exhausted, but it's all worthit.
Tell us a little bit about thecruise line.
Speaker 3 (45:50):
So the cruise line, that industry is actually
picking up a lot.
Ok, because what they've reallydone is taken park experiences
and they put it on a boat.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
OK.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
You still get character interactions.
Nice, there's still experienceslike water slides on the boat
so there's a lot to do there.
Um again, that's a stickerprice shock for a lot of people
yeah but what I have learned isthat the sticker price, if it's
up, there's probably moreinclusions than maybe a more
budget-friendly.
Because, with budget-friendly.
(46:24):
If the sticker price is lower,you usually have to add a drink
package or Wi-Fi or anythinglike that there's going to be
hidden costs in there.
Speaker 1 (46:32):
Yes, so with.
Speaker 3 (46:33):
Disney.
They have two private islandsnow Castaway Cay and the
Lighthouse.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (46:40):
I forgot the name of it Lookout Cay.
Okay, I forgot the name of itLookout Cay.
Okay, and that's their newestprivate.
Speaker 1 (46:46):
Where are those at?
Speaker 3 (46:48):
The Bahamas area.
Speaker 1 (46:49):
Okay, Bahamas Okay.
Speaker 3 (46:50):
And so there's actually a 5K trail.
Oh nice, they do have abarbecue buffet.
So with Disney, everybody gets24-hour room service.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (47:03):
People say to you know, order the Mickey-shaped
ice cream.
Yeah, yeah, they have theendless soft-serve ice cream.
Oh, wow.
You don't have to purchase adrink package.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
Of course, alcoholic drinks are not included in the
price Right, right but sodas,regular coffees.
That's included in your priceat Disney.
Nice we're going on a Disneycruise in December.
That's the girls' Christmaspresent, okay, and so we're
going, and literally the onlything that we're going to have
to add on to our cost is theWi-Fi package, and that's just
because my husband works 24-7.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
He's got to be accessible Right.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
Wow.
That is all we're having to addon.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Is this going to be your first time on the cruise
line?
Speaker 3 (47:44):
It will be my first time with Disney Cruise Line.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
Okay, all right, so we've got the parts, we've got
the cruise line.
Is there anything else?
Disney that I don't know.
Have you been to Disneyland?
Speaker 3 (47:52):
I have not, but I'm wanting to go.
Yeah, for the Oogie Boogie Bash, yeah, yeah.
So Disneyland, I believe, ispretty underrated.
It's the original.
Mm-hmm.
And so they have.
Even though it's smaller, it'sgoing to be a different
experience than Disney World,and I think that's where a lot
of people go wrong, and that'swhere they experience their
(48:14):
disappointment with Disneylandis they expect it to be Disney
World?
Right, but it's still a disneyexperience just different right
disney world.
They have the incrediblesroller coaster, they have
toontown right.
Speaker 1 (48:30):
So it may be, uh, I always imagine it just being a
little bit more smaller and moreintimate, yes, um, but they are
going to have things that areinclusive to them, that you'll
never get their experienceunless you actually go there,
which I've never been tocalifornia, no, anyways.
Speaker 3 (48:44):
But well, you can actually purchase the lightning
lanes within your package reallywith disneyland I don't know
why it's different but it is.
Speaker 1 (48:52):
I'm sure they've got some kind of reasoning on that
yeah.
Do you have any uh, extraquestions that you would like to
ask?
Speaker 2 (48:59):
no, I, I think this is just awesome.
I think that you know everyoneit's probably Disney would
probably be the hardest to planon your own.
You know most vacations thatyou would go on.
A lot of times you can figureit out Like, if I'm going to the
beach, you basically got tofigure out, hey, kind of where
do we want to be, what kind of,what kind of resort or hotel or
whatever we want to be in, andare we going to drive or are we
(49:21):
going to fly?
That's pretty much it.
But then, like disney, there'sso much to think about and and
having an agent to be able tokind of handle that, and I like
that, um, like you don't makeany more money, whether or not
someone has a higher package,lower pack.
You know like you're notpushing something on someone,
you're just basically helpingthem make their journey easier
yes and I think it's importantto do that.
(49:43):
But, like my, my main thought islike, when you have your kids
and they're young, experiencelife.
You know, experience things.
If disney's in that world foryou, then do it.
If it's not, then experienceother things you know, just get
out there and enjoy time withthem, because that that time is
just fleeting your kids.
You.
You turn around and Jude'sstarting to drive now and it's
(50:04):
like when did this happen?
So just experience life as muchas you can with your kids.
That's what I would justencourage each of our listeners
and if you decide to do Disney,find you an agent.
Speaker 1 (50:15):
Yes, For sure.
I got another question.
I'm sorry guys, I'm squirrelingbut Universal.
I'm sorry guys, I'm squirrelingbut Universal.
Do you plan trips for Universal?
Speaker 3 (50:23):
I actually can plan anything, so that's the most
common question I get.
Speaker 1 (50:27):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (50:28):
Do you just do Disney .
I do not do just Disney, I doUniversal.
You know, there's a Universalin California as well.
Speaker 1 (50:35):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (50:35):
I do all-inclusive resorts.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (50:38):
I do cruises, all cruise lines.
Mm-hmm of resorts.
Okay, I do cruises, all cruiselines, so I can do domestic
travel.
So if you're wanting to go toNew York, I've done a road trip.
I just recently booked a roadtrip for a group of six people.
They're going to road tripthrough California Nice, so I
booked that for them.
Okay, so I can really do almostjust about anything.
Speaker 1 (51:01):
Now I had a friend that their first Disney trip.
I'm trying to imagine how crazythis would have been.
She has three children, but Ithink they had a good experience
.
But they did Disney andUniversal at the same time and I
think they did a couple of daysat Disney and then a couple of
days at Universal.
So if someone was wanting to dothat, because they might be
pressed for time, they justmight be like we've got to
(51:22):
experience it all in this amountof days.
What parks in Disney would yourecommend the most?
If they're like I can only dotwo, let's say that they're just
like.
I want you to pick because Idon't know.
Speaker 3 (51:39):
I would first take into consideration the age of
the kids and what kind of thrillthey're looking for.
Honestly, I think if it was twodays, I would recommend a
two-day park hopper.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (51:51):
Because in case they want to ride Tron, for example.
But Hollywood Studios is goingto have a little bit more of
your thrill it's Hollywood Towerof Terror.
Rockin'.
Roller Coaster.
So there's Slinky Dog.
That's not really a thrill ride, but it's a popular ride.
Then you've got your Star Wars.
So if you have older kids,especially Star Wars fans.
Speaker 1 (52:13):
Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (52:13):
Studios.
Epcot is just a classic.
Speaker 1 (52:17):
I just keep going back to Epcot, me too.
My kids love.
Speaker 3 (52:20):
Magic Kingdom.
We end up at Magic Kingdomevery single day.
Yes, Just because we love MagicKingdom.
And that's a staple point forDisney World is the castle.
Speaker 1 (52:29):
Sure yes.
Speaker 3 (52:32):
I would just really look at the age of the kids and
their interests, because I havehad people look at split stays
and kind of weigh their optionsout.
Speaker 1 (52:42):
Are there packages for people to stay on resort for
Disney and stay on resort forUniversal?
Speaker 3 (52:49):
Oh, girl, I can do that.
We can make anything happen.
Whatever your hearts desire, wecan make it happen.
I would honestly suggest thatbecause, like Disney, universal
has their perks too of stayingon their property.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Yes, and Universal has all the Harry Potter, like
we're Potterheads.
Yeah, we absolutely love it andhonestly, we've said that we
would probably go there againbefore we went to Disney because
our trip got cut short.
Just family stuff that happened.
Speaker 3 (53:20):
Well, now Epic's open Epic Universe.
Speaker 1 (53:21):
Yes, and like we're dying to try that out.
Speaker 3 (53:25):
I mean, what they've done with Epic is unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (53:28):
Now, does it cost people for you to give them
quotes?
I mean, obviously you don'twant to waste someone's time if
you're really not interested intaking a trip, but is it free to
get a quote?
Speaker 3 (53:39):
Yes, and when I work up a quote specifically for any
package?
Really, I will do abudget-friendly a moderate, and
then I will do a deluxe.
Speaker 1 (53:51):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (53:52):
So I give you three.
For Universal and Disney World.
You get three hotel choices.
I tell you what I've included.
I like to start like I willalways include a photo package
yep, I agree, you need it that'sessential, but unless you have
specified park hopper, not parkhopper a lot of times when
(54:12):
people reach out to me, I askthem the basic questions so I
know what kind of quote to workup okay, yeah, so it as a park
hopper, is that more expensive?
Yes, but it's a solid price.
Speaker 1 (54:25):
I thought so that's awesome.
Did you have anything else?
No, I'm good.
Thank you for joining us today.
We might have you back so wecan talk about things that are
not Disney and talk more aboutcruises.
I know my mom was speaking awhile ago.
She was like, could she book usa trip out west, because we've
(54:46):
always wanted to tour thenational parks and things, and
I'm like I think she can, sothat would be a really cool
topic to talk about and just,guys, get out there, explore
God's wonderful creation that hegave us.
We have some beautiful spotshere in the United States to
visit and Caitlin here can setyou up so that you can see them
(55:07):
all.
So join us next time.
We pray that the Lord willbless you and keep you and make
his face to shine upon you.
We'll see you next time.
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