General Travel

Christmastime in Nashville!

March 31, 2020 By Marvelous Mouse Travels Leave a Comment

It’s never too early to think about Christmas travel! Thank you Arlene Sealy for this fantastic information about your visit!

If you’ve ever considered Nashville at Christmastime, the Gaylord Opryland Resort is the place to visit! We visited for New Year’s Eve and also got to experience the Christmas decorations throughout the resort. The resort has 9 acres of indoor gardens and waterfalls. They also have so many areas to explore including the numerous restaurants, stores, and an indoor/outdoor water attraction park. I stayed there and had a wonderful experience. Our room had a view of the light show that happens every night. Within that area of the hotel we experienced a water show with music.

The entire hotel was decorated plus there were numerous activities for both children and adults. We experienced the ICE show, with the theme of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. All sculptures are made of ice which means the auditorium had freezing temperatures. You need to bring your weather gear, but you are provided with a full-length parka to be worn as you explore.

I was blown away by the Christmas decorations in every area of the resort. Make sure to carry the map they provide, because you will get lost. The resort also provided opportunities for Sleigh Rides, visits with Santa, gingerbread decorating contests, Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Feast, a riverboat cruise in the hotel, and many more family-oriented activities prior to the New Years celebration.

For New Year’s Eve we got tickets to the Bluebird Café and listened to music in the round. What an amazing experience. We were entertained by Grammy Award winning song writers. They entertained us with their music and stories about how they wrote songs. I plan on taking another trip with my granddaughter so we can experience the magic of Christmas in Nashville.

Aulani ~ A Disney Resort & Spa

November 1, 2019 By Marvelous Mouse Travels

Thank you Nikki Kennedy for this post on Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa!

When you get to Hawaii you are exhausted, and even though you just want to sleep the 4-6-hour time change just doesn’t let you! When we stayed at Disney’s Aulani we used this extra couple hour of being awake the best way possible, with a delicious meal overlooking the sunrise over the ocean at ‘AMA ‘AMA! Could there be anything more gorgeous?

I ordered the Captain Crunch French Toast – It’s vacation right? Calories don’t count? It was so dang good I actually tried to make it when we got home!

Of course, since we were in Hawaii we had to order the pineapple as well, soooo yummy! Be sure to schedule your reservations before you arrive on the Aulani website! These reservations go quick! Of course, if you book with me, I will take care of all of that for you!

Family or Group Disney Halloween Costume Ideas

September 29, 2019 By Marvelous Mouse Travels

Thank you Megan Guinnup for these great group costume ideas!

It’s that time of year again when the stress of figuring out your clever, puny, “wow, great job!” Halloween costume choice for the year. The struggle is real! Whether you’re heading to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (a hard ticket event with spooky lighting, trick or treating, a Halloween themed parade, fireworks, and characters in their costumes) or just preparing for the 31st, here are some family or group Disney costume ideas for you to consider:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
101 Dalmatians
Ariel and Friends
The Fab 5 (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy)
The Incredibles
Peter Pan and The Darling Family with Captain Hook/Smee and Tink
Winnie the Pooh and Friends
Frozen Characters (Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, Sven)
Marvel Characters
Alice and Wonderland (Alice, White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts)

To purchase your tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom for your Fall Walt Disney World vacation contact us at Marvelous Mouse Travels. Parties happen select nights until October 31st!

Happy Halloween!

Disney’s Very Merrytime Cruise

September 18, 2019 By Marvelous Mouse Travels

Thank you Megan Guinnup for sharing with us a few of the fun things waiting for you on Disney Cruise Line’s Merrytime Cruise!

The holidays are such a magical time of year that it only makes sense that the Disney Cruise
Line would celebrate the magic of the season on board their ships each year from November
through just after December 25th. You can even spend actual Christmas on a Disney Cruise!*
Here are some of the activities and events that are unique to a Disney Cruise with a Very Merry
Time itinerary:

Santa Claus Meet and Greet
Characters in their holiday attire
Tree Lighting Ceremony
Gingerbread Decorating (by reservation and books up quickly)
Themed Activities and Crafts for Kids
Story Time with Mrs. Claus
Mickey’s Winter Wonderland Ball – frozen fun in the lobby

*Plus, on December 24 and 25, enjoy these additional treats on a Very Merrytime Cruise:
Cookies on Christmas Eve
Special holiday towel animals
Caroling with the kids and crew!

Merry time sailings start as early as November 1st so you can start the holiday celebrations as
soon as the day after Halloween!
Contact a Marvelous Mouse Travels Agent to set up your magical holiday sailing.

Now More than Ever! D23 Recap

August 30, 2019 By Marvelous Mouse Travels

A big thank you to Molly Davis for putting together this awesome information and Suzanne Sevier for the pictures!

Now More than Ever. That is the phrase used to describe all things Disney and how NOW more than EVER is going to be the time to visit all of the Disney theme parks! Marvelous Mouse Travels had the great opportunity to visit the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, and learned about all of the latest and greatest updates and what is to come in the next couple of years for all things Disney.

Special thanks to Suzanne Sevier for sharing her pictures from the D23 Expo!

Disneyland: Anaheim, California

Disneyland will be getting a new parade called, “Magic Happens,” featuring new floats, an all-new musical soundtrack, characters than have never been in parades before (including Moana, Cocoa, which are just to name a few!) This will debut in Spring of 2020!

Disney California Adventure: Anaheim, California

The Avengers Campus will feature the first Spiderman attraction. Guests will be able to slink webs just like Spiderman. The Pym Test Kitchen as well as Ant Man and the Wasp will also be part of Avengers Campus and guests will have the opportunity to meet characters along with Black Panther, Thor, Ironman, and others as part of their meet and greet! The WEB (World Wide Engineering Brigade) will allows guests to play and create new inventions including the web slinger vehicle. These features will also be available at Disneyland in Paris, France!

Disney’s California Adventure will also be getting an all new E-ticket attraction where guests will be able to fly to Wakanda!

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

Disneyland’s castle in Hong Kong will not be inspired by any of the princesses, rather instead they will be inspired by the heroines. This castle will be called Castle of Magical Dreams.

Hong Kong will also get 2 new Frozen themed attractions! One of these will be a near clone of Maelstrom at Walt Disney World’s Epcot.

Walt Disney World: Orlando, Florida

Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort has announced that Cirque du Soleil is back with a live action show inspired by Disney animation. The classic Disney characters will interact with live performers of Cirque du Soleil. This show will also feature a soundtrack that will compliment the acrobatics and stunts being performed. This show begins previews on March 20, 2020 and will open to the public on April 17, 2020.

The Disney Skyliner will open on September 29^th.

The 50^th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Resort will take place in all 4 parks in 2021.

Disney Genie is a new digital offering coming to Walt Disney World. This feature will suggest options and attractions based on your likes and preferences and can be changed on demand. This will debut in late 2020.

Reflections: A Lakeside Lodge and Resort will open as a reimagined classic country lodge. It will feature various hotel rooms like A-Framed villas and tree houses, and the first of its kind “Princess and the Frog” themed restaurant.

Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Hotel will be available for 2 days and 2 nights. It will immerse adults and children in the world of Star Wars and include a new attraction where guests will face a training robot that fires lasers while guests wield lightsabers. Guests will also be able to access the bridge of Halcyon and pilot it.

Epcot will receive its biggest reconstruction EVER attempted for a Disney park! Epcot will be divided into 4 new neighborhoods including World Discovery, World Celebration, World Nature, and World Showcase.

World Showcase: Celebrates culture, cuisine, and traditions.

In the China pavilion, a new film called “Wondrous China” will take guests on a journey across the country filmed and presented in a 360-degree digital format.
“Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360” will debut in 2020 in the Canada pavilion featuring a new story.
France will now have two films called “Impressions de France” and a “Beauty and the Beast” sing along that will debut in January 2020. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will open in Summer of 2020, where you will shrink to the size of Chef Remy and race through Gusteau’s restaurant. A new restaurant will also open in the France pavilion called La Creperie de Paris, which will offer both table and quick service options.
The United Kingdom pavilion will feature its first attraction inspired by Mary Poppins. You will go back in time and walk down Cherry Tree Lane and enter Number 17, which is the home of the Banks family, where you will begin your adventure.
In 2020, “HarmonioUS” will debut as the largest nighttime show in Disney’s history. This will follow the limited time run of “Epcot Forever.”

World Celebration: World Celebration will offer new experiences that connect us to one another and the world around us.

A new 3-tiered festival pavilion will be added. The pavilion will be the perfect place for live events and the home base for Epcot’s signature festivals. It will provide a stunning elevated view of the entire park and an ideal spot to witness Epcot’s nighttime spectacular. This three-level structure will have amazing designs featuring a plaza level, a middle expo level, and a park that sits in the sky on the top level.
Spaceship Earth will remain in its iconic location, but will be reconstructed to include new scenes, different narrations, a new guide, and different exit locations. Dreamers Point will also host a new statue of Walt Disney as you exit Spaceship Earth. This will also feature a garden, wishing tree, and an interactive fountain.

World Discovery: Stories about science, technology, and intergalactic adventure are brought to life.

Guardians of the Galaxy coaster which is currently under construction at Epcot, will be called “Cosmic Rewind” featuring the first backwards launch coaster for any Disney park!
Mission Space will add a new restaurant called Space 2020. This restaurant is currently already under construction and expected to open Winter 2019.
The Play Pavilion will feature Huey, Dewey, and Louis in a water balloon fight attraction. This will open in 2021.

World Nature: Dedicated to understanding and preserving the beauty of the natural world. This will include the Land and The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion.

Awesome Planet will open in January 2020 to showcase the beauty, diversity, and story of Earth.
The Moana attraction called “Journey of Water” will open and teach guests about the water cycle and why it is important to be saving our water resources.

Disney Stores: Nationwide

The Disney Store will be coming to 25 different Target stores! Various Disney products will now be available at select Target stores and will also be available on Target’s website.

Disney Cruise Lines

Disney Cruise Line’s new second private island will be called Lighthouse Point on Eluthera in the Bahamas. Disney will create a new experience that preserves the natural environment and culture. Disney will work with local artists on the island to create the artwork. It will be a place unlike any other!

Disney Cruise Line’s new ship will be called Disney Wish. The 3-story atrium will be inspired by Disney fairytales and will sail in January 2022. The character on the stern will be Rapunzel. Disney has helped grant over 150,000 wishes, which coincides with the name of the new Disney ship. Nearly 1 in 3 wishes are Make a Wish grants for Disney!

Ready to book your next trip to a Disney destination? Now more than ever is the time to visit, especially in the next coming years! Make sure to e-mail Contactus@marvelousmousetravels.com for a free quote!