Coloring, scrapbooking, reading, and baking cookies. What a fun, relaxing kind of evening in the room, after a fun-filled day at the water park. As much as I love the theme parks, these trips where we don't go to them are so nice. Hanging out at the resort, lots of swimming, and enjoying some of the other wonders of Walt Disney World.
#makingmemories #familyvacations #itsthetimetogetherthatcounts
When on vacation, it's what's for lunch. The Earthquake...Not for the faint of heart, it just a couple people. Serves up to 8. Your choice of 8 flavors and 8 toppings. (Not as sickening as the Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream, either.)
Time for another great day at the Chicago Travel & Adventure Show! Cuba, Europe, Cruises, Walt Disney World, and Hawaii, plus a Destination Wedding were all the hot topics yesterday...excited to learn where else I can send today's guests. If you're local, come see us! Next weekend is New York City. It's (always) the vacation booking season!
Scotland, Walt Disney World, Aruba, a wedding cruise, Hawaii, Playa del Carmen, New Zealand, Panama Canal cruise, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and a domestic girlfriend's getaway... these are all vacations I'm currently working on booking for some awesome clients. Where can I help you plan an amazing adventure?
#itsvacationtime #wanttogetaway #cruiseplanners #morethanjustcruises
Sometimes I share what I'm doing and most times I don't. Today I'm enjoying lunch with my friend, David Nicely, who I'm thrilled to announce will be joining my team and the journey that I've been on for more than five years now. David has a great love for adventure, and Disney, as I do. He and his family love Walt Disney World, and he's had great fun helping people plan amazing trips to the "Vacation Kingdom" many times. He brings a wealth of sales experience from his primary career and looks forward to jumping in and helping people create memories to last a lifetime. David becomes my third Associate, and I look forward to an exciting year ahead as he completes his CP training and he can get down to the business of making magic for families. It's so fun to look back over the past five+ years and see how far I've come with this travel adventure, and thank God for His continued blessings. David, Liz, and Rachel comprise a great team that I am blessed to lead.
Here's a look at Tomorrowland from April 1978. The shot itself is a bit blurry, but it's of Sam the Eagle, host of America Sings, an all-audio animatronics show celebrating America's music, which originally opened in 1974 in honor of America's upcoming Bicentennial in 1976. The show occupied the space originally designed and built for the Carousel of Progress which opened at Disneyland in 1967, and closed in 1973 to be shipped east to Walt Disney World. Just as COP did, the audience revolved around a series of stages, with each section celebrating a different era in American music, with the eagle and owl seen here popping up in each sequence to tell the story of the various musical styles. Never meant to be a long-term attraction, since the Bicentennial celebration was only meant to last from 1975 - 1977, the show closed permanently in 1988. (I was in the last performance as the carousel spun around for it's final performance). Prior to the closing in 1988, a few geese were stripped of their skin and found a new home in the all-new Disneyland classic Star Tours, when it opened in early 1987. When the show was dismantled, many of the audio animatronics found new life in the Disneyland classic, Splash Mountain over in the all-new Critter Country (replacing Bear Country) in 1988 as a cost-savings measure. Thanks the smashing success of both Star Tours and Splash Mountain at Disneyland, a whole slew of new animatronics in the same style had to be created when both Star Tours opened at Walt Disney World's Disney-MGM Studios in 1989 and Splash Mountain was added to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland in 1992. 
Here's a look at Main Street U.S.A. in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom from my visit to Florida in October 1992. Here we see the original Center Street section on the west side of Main Street. This section was once a vibrant little part of the park, with the Harmony Barbershop located at the back of this little side street. Today it's all just part of the Emporium, as this street section was closed in as part of the Emporium back in the late '90's to increase the retail space available. Today the barbershop is located in Town Square instead, near the Fire Station. 
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel (formerly known as Cinderella's Golden Carousel), was an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, but it was certainly not a new carousel. The 90-horse masterpiece was found and purchased by Disney Imagineers in Maplewood, New Jersey in 1967. It had been spinning in Olympic Park for more than 39 years, but was originally built and placed into use in Detroit, Michigan in 1917. The original "Liberty" carousel was in a good state of disrepair and required restoration and preservation. The band organ that adds classic Disney sounds to the attraction is the original instrument. The horses, made of hard maple, are also original, having been stripped down, restored and repainted, and they come in five different sizes, with the largest on the outer rows. 
When I was young, I loved the advent of spring, simply
because it meant that school would be getting out for the summer in just a
couple of more months. In those couple
of months we’d also have what was then known as Easter Vacation (since it
always came the week leading up to or the week directly following Easter
Sunday), and voila, the time would start to fly by. Factor in a few end of year events, academic
testing and some special reward trips for a good results during the school
year, and wow, summer was pretty much on the horizon with lazy days ahead. Fast forward a few decades, and the spring for
me as an adult does not have a similar meaning at all. Sure there will be a few lazy days mixed in
during the summer… but honestly I have more lazy, relaxing days in the winter
than I do in the summer these past few years. 
Today I not only say that another week has flown by, but I’ll
say that another YEAR has flown by as well.
But not only that, this week marks the beginning of the end of a another
DECADE as well. What’s that all mean you
say? Well, tomorrow I get to mark a very
special day with the one person in this life whom I love the most, and have spent
the most intimate and quality time – my lovely bride. Tomorrow is our 19th wedding
anniversary, and as such, we are closing out another great year together, but
also embarking into the final year of our second decade together as a married
couple.  |
| To my lovely bride... |
It hardly seems possible though that it has already been 19 years since we made our vows, and then later enjoyed a cool party with many family and friends, before embarking out on our own to enjoy that all-important honeymoon period prior to officially “starting life”. For many that honeymoon might be spent on a tropical island, or enjoying the art & culture of the “old world” in Europe. For us, it was in a tropical location, and we did enjoy some “old world” charm, granted re-created charm, but charm none-the-less. We honeymooned at Walt Disney World, and had a wonderful time. It was my third visit to the Central Florida resort, and my lovely bride’s first. And in those 19 years, a LOT has changed at my favorite Central Florida destination. The resort of choice … The Grand Floridian Beach Resort as it was known back then (today it’s Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa). 
But the new MagicBand bracelet is not a singular
introduction,rather it is merely part of a larger, technological initiative
known as MyMagic+, which Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has been, and will be, rolling
out throughout the Walt Disney World resort complex over the next several
months in an attempt to improve the overall guest experience. 
MyMagic+ is certainly more than just the new
wristbands. The system itself includes a
new website and a mobile app called My Disney Experience, but the real key to
MyMagic+, both literally and figuratively, is an RFID (radio-frequency
identification) technology embedded in each MagicBand bracelet. The technology,
known as FastPass+, is an enhanced version of the 14 year old FastPass system,
whereby guests are able to secure a “reservation time window” for the top
attractions, moving on to enjoy other areas of the park then returning within
the “reservation window” to essentially skip a large portion of the attraction
line. The existing system certainly has
many ardent fans and detractors. So time
will tell if the new FastPass+ is truly an enhancement to the overall guest
experience or more of a hindrance.  |
| Resort room locks have been changed, now using the RFID technology. Guests simply hold their Key to the World card close to the Mickey head, instead of pushing it into a slot, as formerly done. When the Mickey head lights up turning green, the lock is opened and the guest may enter the room. |
 |
| PIN-setting device now found at resort Front Desks around Walt Disney World property, where guests select their personal pin when adding their credit card to their Key to the World card, and eventually their new MagicBand. |
