Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade

Take in this dazzling and delightful parade as it winds its way from Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A.®, to Frontierland®. Discover your favorite Disney Characters, feast your eyes on the major floats, move your feet to upbeat music and set your imagination soaring!

 Show Length:
Approximately 15 minutes* standing in one location.
*Parade actual start and end time will depend upon chosen spot along parade route.

Viewing Location:
Begins in Frontierland®, moves into Liberty Square® and then to Main Street, U.S.A.®

*Parade my start on Main Street and follow the route through Frontierland, map inserts should tell you during your visit.

Viewing Dates*:
Daily (weather permitting). Please check Daily Times Guide upon entry for start time.

 We have found the train depot is a great place to see the afternoon parade! Most of the floats are tall so being upstairs doesn’t hinder your view at all!!! MackeyMouse Travel will send you on vacation with a great list of tidbits like these!! Contact us today so we can help you plan your next Magical Vacation!! mackeymousetravel@yahoo.com or 770.490.5974.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

 Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique 

 

Feel like a Disney princess in this magical salon, which is owned by the Fairy Godmother and operated by Fairy Godmothers-in-training. Consider such entrancing options as hair styles, nail polish, make-up and a total package including Disney princess costume and photos.

Children three to twelve can choose from three different hairstyles - Disney Diva, Pop Princess or Fairytale Princess - and three makeover packages:

• Coach Makeover - Hair style and shimmering make-up.
• Crown Makeover - Hair style, nails and shimmering make-up.
• Castle Makeover - Hair style, nails, shimmering make-up, imaging package (includes one 6"x8" and four 4"x6" photos in a themed holder) and a Princess costume of your choice complete with crown, wand and shoes.

 The Boutique also offers an additional service for ages three to twelve called The Knight Package, which includes colorful hair gel and confetti, a sword and shield.

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is open daily and has two locations, inside the World of Disney® Store at Downtown Disney Marketplace and inside the Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom® Park.

Reservations are strongly recommended and is a part of the services MackeyMouse Travel offers! Contact us today so we can get your vacation planning started!! mackeymousetravel@yahoo.com

Digital Technology

How to Survive in a Digital World....

 

Adventureland ~ Mia Mackey

We are in the world of Digital. We all have phones that take pictures (great for sharing on social media immediately!) and digital cameras. On our last trip I tried something that I truly was glad I did! I bought a DSLR camera so I could provide my blog and Facebook page with great pictures of my favorite place. I took over 4,000 pictures in April of this year! The only way I was able to keep up with my pictures was by using a different memory card per day. I labeled them before I left and just used #1 on day 1 and so on. An easy and convenient way to keep your memories chronologically and ready to upload and share a whole lot faster! 

I used my cell phone to take pictures to upload to my business Facebook page, so when I got home I emailed myself all of those pictures so I could put them in my scrapbook too. Is there an easier way? I would love to know!! And there is probably an app for that!

For videos I use a Flip video camera so I can upload all videos easier. I started that on a personal level so I could make DVDs without having to connect my camera and copy onto my writable DVD recorder through my TV. I love it! You can edit any way you want, add still shots and text. It is a great source to make your vacation memories pop! Plus they are becoming more and more inexpensive! The size is amazing since my DSLR and my extra lenses are bulky, my Flip fits nicely in a side pocket of my Mickey Mouse camera bag. I toss it into my shorts pocket and am ready at all times!!

Do you have any tips, you’d like to share? Let us know, we can all use ideas on making our lives easier and streamlined!!

Should you go to WDW?

Why Does Planning Have to be so HARD?

Have you been thinking about a trip to Walt Disney World but aren't sure when, how or what? Hopefully I can help you understand the planning aspect of deciding on a WDW trip.

Disney is king of family vacation destinations! They offer the widest variety of accommodations, activities, theme parks and dining. How on Earth are you expected to understand it all and make the right choices for your family. A travel agent is a great first call! But here are a few things your travel agent is going to ask you so let's get you prepared!

What type of vacation do you prefer?
Active, quiet, take it slow, or full speed ahead. Think about your over all experience when you vacation. Do you want to unwind and slow your family down or do you want to make sure they don't miss a single thing?

Accommodations, what is a must have in a resort?
Disney offers 4 categories of resort options: Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Home Away From Home. As you guessed it, the price starts low (Value) and goes higher (HAFH). There is something to fit every budget and every size family but you really need to think about what you can't live without. Value is the HoJo version of Disney hotels. Yes they all have great Disney themes but you will get the basics of amenities. Moderates offer larger beds (queens vs. doubles), larger square footage and even some resorts with trundle beds for families of 5! Deluxe are the plush resorts. You will have high end amenities but the best part is location, location, location! All of those beautiful resorts along the monorail loop are Deluxe resorts as well as, the lagoon at the Boardwalk.

Home Away From Home resorts offer full kitchens and actually have resorts in all 3 main categories. Art of Animation and All Star Music have family suites with partial kitchens. Fort Wilderness Cabins are in the moderate category with full kitchens. And all other HAFH resorts are in the Deluxe category with full kitchens and top notch amenities.

Theme Parks ~ do you add the "others"?
Disney has 4 theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios. You can choose tickets that give you unlimited access for your entire stay (Park Hopper tickets) or you can choose one park per day (basic tickets). Some guests go to WDW every few years so they want to add everything into their trip including Sea World and Universal Studios. To do the absolute minimum each park offers you will need 7 full days (4 at WDW parks and 2 at Universal Studios and 1 at Sea World).

When ~ when do you want to go?
This will affect your cost a lot! There are seasons at WDW as with all hotels. Disney has Holiday seasons which are going to include Spring Break, Thanksgiving and Christmas thru New Years. Expect the highest prices and the largest crowds during those times. If you want my quickest answer to the best time to go, here it is: mid-January, May, September-early November and early December. Prices are kind of reasonable in July and August but the heat might just get you. Disney has of late been offering free dining September - November (with some time in early December). This offers you the absolute best bang for your buck if you can swing a trip during free dining. Keep in mind Disney blocks out certain popular times which include a lot of school fall breaks (except for any in September).

How does this all work?
You can book any Disney Vacation package with just a deposit of $200.00. Your entire vacation must be paid in full 45 days prior to your arrival. If you need to make changes you can for no fee, although prices will vary if you change to low season to high season or if ticket prices have changed.

Can a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children between the ages of 3-9) go to Disney for a week for $2,500. Yes they can! Value resort during free dining will be your absolute best time to go. You will be able to get 6 nights/7 days with basic tickets. It won't include Universal or Sea World, but for a little more you can add one or both. Travel agents (and I don't mean Expedia or the like) are you best resource to use when planning. Disney trains them all the time and they can provide the best way to get the most of your vacation.

I as your travel agent have your best interest at heart! I want to make sure you everything you want out of your trip. I can plan on Disney property or off Disney property and price everything in between. Use me! I charge no fees and will always put you first!  Visit my website for more information about me and what I offer and always check my Disney Information website that as a travel agent Disney maintains with the most current information. Email me at mackeymousetravel@yahoo.com or call me at 770.490.5974.

Cars Wing Opens at Art of Animation Resort

Cars Wing Offers High-Octane Fun at Disney’s New Family Suites Resort

Copyright: Disney

 Lightning McQueen, Mater, Flo and other characters from the popular Pixar film “Cars” race into Radiator Springs just in time for the summer vacation season as Disney’s Art of Animation Resort opened the second phase of its new family suites property at Walt Disney World Resort June 18. Less than a month ago, Disney’s Art of  Animation Resort opened its first phase of family suites, themed to Finding Nemo.

In the new Cars wing, featuring 480 family suites, a freshly paved road leads guests on the greatest road trip ever, a cruise down memory lane to small town America — Radiator Springs.  Parked at the entryway Sheriff and  the infamous  Doc Hudson welcome folks into town, along with other car “faces” parked along the road.  There’s backdrops of Luigi’s Casa Della Tires, Tow Mater Towing and the Wheel Well Motel, creating an authentic setting lifted from the super-charged adventure.

All roads lead to the 60′s style Cozy Cone Motel where distinctive orange cone-shaped cabanas invite guests to kick back and then take a dip in the Cozy Cone Pool. High-octane theming is full-throttle inside the family suites, with orange cones imprinted in the carpeting and adorning the light fixtures plus animation-inspired artwork. Guests will feel as though they walked into a scene from the blockbuster film as a pull-out bed extends from the living room sofa (whimsically appearing as the back seat of an old hot rod), the tool chest is actually the dresser and the bathroom design is inspired by a car  wash.

Opening in phases, each of four distinctly designed wings of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort celebrates rich storytelling, spirited characters, original sketches and playfulness with colorful icons and whimsical theming inspired by classic Disney and Disney•Pixar films.

How to Prepare for a Vacation at a Disney Park pt 3

New Series: How to Prepare for a Vacation at a Disney Park

Using Guest Services!

Young guests.  Old guests.  Guests with mobility challenges.  Guests with vision or hearing disabilities. Guests whose “native tongue” isn’t English.  Guests with special diets.  The “Guest-centric” culture of Disney strives to create a welcoming environment for everyone…

♦ Special guide maps pointing out kid-stuff – where you can find the characters plus attractions, entertainment and interactive activities of special interest to young children – are available at Guest Relations in all the theme parks.

♦ Baby Care Centers in all four theme parks feature private rooms with rocking chairs for nursing mothers, diaper-changing rooms, and feeding rooms with highchairs, bibs and plastic spoons.  There are even diapers, formula and teethers for sale.

♦ Stroller rentals are available.  Rather than lugging a stroller (including on and off of parking-lot trams), parents with young children can rent a stroller at the theme parks.  Tips for renters:

• A length-of-stay rental saves some money.
• Even for a one-day rental, keep your receipt; if you park-hop, drop off the stroller when you leave a park and use your receipt to obtain a stroller when you enter another park.  (The receipt also permits you to claim another stroller if yours “disappears.”)

♦ Theme park guidemaps are available in six languages – English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese.  They are available at Guest Relations locations in each park, along with times guides for shows, character greetings, parades and fireworks.

♦ The Guidemap for Guests with Disabilities provides a detailed overview of services and facilities available for guests with disabilities and is available at Guest Relations locations within all four parks as well as Lobby Concierge locations at Walt Disney World resort hotels.  Types of disabilities covered include mobility disability, hearing disability, visual disability and non-apparent disability.

♦ Wheelchairs and Electric Convenience Vehicles (ECVs) are available for rent at Disney theme parks for the convenience of guests with disabilities.  A tip:

• A length-of-stay rental ticket is available which offers not only savings but also involves a one-time payment transaction after which the guest simply shows the receipt at the stroller rental location and is expedited through the queue with little or no wait time.

♦ Special dietary requests can typically be accommodated.  The Walt Disney World Food & Beverage team is committed to offering a wide range of choices to accommodate guests who require lifestyle dining options, as well as most specific requests from guests with food allergies or intolerances.  Some considerations to note:

• Whether dining at a table-service restaurant or at a quick-service restaurant, desired dining requests will be addressed.
• In many cases, advance notice is required – usually at the time of your reservation.
• Please call Disney’s Dining Reservation Center at 407/WDW-DINE to discuss arrangements.

♦ Professional photographers take keepsake shots of family vacations – with everyone in the picture.  Here are some of the details:

• Disney’s PhotoPass service photographers are stationed at prime photo spots throughout the theme parks.
• The guest’s Disney’s PhotoPass ID card (issued free) is used by the photo team to keep track of images.
• The images can be viewed online; guests can order prints, customized photo albums, T-shirts, mugs and more.
• Additional information is available online by visiting www.disneyphotopass.com.

♦ Merchandise purchases don’t have to be a burden.  There are alternatives to carrying the packages throughout the parks:

• Package pickup is available at no charge.  Merchandise is moved to package pickup, conveniently located near the front entrance of each park, for guests’ pickup when they are leaving the park.
• Hotel delivery is available at no charge to guests of Walt Disney World resorts.  Purchases made prior to 7 p.m. will be delivered to the guest’s hotel by noon the following day.  Purchases made after 7 p.m. will be at the hotel on the second day after purchase.
• Shipping is available for an additional charge at the time of purchase.

♦ Lockers are available for rental.  They are first come, first served – and quite popular.  They are located near the entrance of each park.  There are a variety of sizes.  If you are park-hopping, you don’t have to pay the locker fee a second time on a day (just a key deposit) provided you keep your receipt.

The theme park itineraries that Disney guests create are as varied as the guests themselves – from their interests to their individual circumstances.  But with planning, all of their experiences can be equally magical.

Knowing what to do when you get there is key to a magical vacation at any Disney Park. We at MackeyMouse Travel are here to help you use all of these resources and more. Think of us as you advocate to the World! Contact us today to book your next amazing family vacation! mackeymousetravel@yahoo.com