family travel

Disney’s Very Merrytime Cruise

September 18, 2019 By Marvelous Mouse Travels 2 Comments

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 Leave a Comment

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!

Tips for Traveling with Kids

June 13, 2019 By Marvelous Mouse Travels

Thank you so much to Stephanie Novarro for this great information on traveling with littles!

Anyone who know me knows that I love to travel. I have been traveling with my kids since my daughter was 4 months old. Some people look at you like you are crazy and wasting money on trips that the kids will never remember. But others, like me, understand why traveling is so important and they do it to.

Traveling with little ones, whether driving or flying, is different than traveling alone. The first trip we took with our daughter was supposed to be a quick 3-hour car ride down to Galveston for a long weekend. Well at 4 months old you can imagine that the car ride took closer to 6 hours with stops to feed and change her. If you are worried about the travel part of the trip, don’t be and just go with the flow and you will have a great time. Make sure you plan ahead for extra travel time for feedings or potty breaks for the little ones. I will forever remember our daughters first time at the beach.

When you are flying with small kids it is important to make sure you have enough supplies in your carry on to keep the kids fed and entertained. On a recent trip back home to NY we had our two kiddos with us. At the time, our daughter was 2 and still in diapers and our son was only 4 months and still drinking formula. Our flight was diverted to Pittsburgh because of bad weather in the tri state area and eventually a couple of hours later the flight crew timed out. You can imagine what happened next; there we are with 2 small kids, 2 car seats, a double stroller and luggage boarding a bus to a hotel for the night in Pittsburgh. Had I not packed enough supplies in my carry on being stuck in Pittsburgh could have been a disaster.

How we react as adults in these situations will have an impact on our kids. Were we upset that we were stuck in the airport with 2 kids, sure we were but we never let our kids see our frustrations. While we were in the airport my husband and daughter rode the moveable sidewalks back and forth for what seemed like hours. She LOVED it; she thought it was the best thing. They even stopped and got some Hershey Kisses at one of the newsstands.

Some of the things I always keep in my bag for my kids are SNACKS, lots and lots of SNACKS! I like to have more diapers and wipes than I think I would actually need because who knows how many blowouts your kid will decide to have on the plane. I also take crayons and a coloring book, and of course the iPad.

My advice to you is not to be afraid to travel with your kids when they are babies or even young kids. In most cases, the kids are better travelers than some adults. Make the memories with your kids. My daughter loves to fly and loves to talk about all of our past adventures.

Discover Palm Springs!

May 22, 2019 By Marvelous Mouse Travels

Thank you to Jaclyn Vercillo for this fun look at Palm Springs, California!

Palm Springs is about a 3 hour drive from Los Angeles and we love to head there for a quick retreat. California is so big, and has so many different types of destinations. My kids marvel at how each location is so different, but in the same state. Palm Springs feels like a desert oasis filled with lush palm trees while surrounded by beautiful mountains. This time the top of the mountains were covered in snow which was crazy for us! We were in 85 degree weather and our scenery was snow covered mountains!

This time we decided to stay at the Parker Palm Springs. It’s an iconic hotel, originally built as an estate, and designed by the very talented Jonathan Adler. The details and design of this hotel blew me away. It was exquisite and quirky at the same time. Many people come to visit the Parker since it’s so iconic and it has amazing restaurants. What’s great about the hotel is that only hotel guests are allowed past the lobby and restaurant area so you have the grounds all to yourself. And believe me, they are amazing! They have fire pits, hammocks, croquet fields, 2 pools, chess and ping pong, and lush gardens. They also have the most adorable lemonades stand offered only to hotel guests. They have yummy food, amazing lemonade, and adult beverages too.

There are so many great things to do in Palm Springs. Most people go to relax and soak up the sun, but it’s also known for golf and tennis. Traveling with kids we knew we would need a few adventurous items on our itinerary besides lounging by the pool. We decided to visit The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens are first day and we were very impressed. It’s beautifully maintained and they have amazing add ons like feeding the giraffes and camel rides. My kids also really enjoyed the model train exhibit and so did the adults! If you want a little more adventure you should wear your hiking gear and take one of the amazing trails there.

After the zoo we headed back to our hotel for some lounging before our dinner at the amazing French restaurant Mr. Parker’s. Heading to dinner the hotel had completely transformed into a big nightlife crowd. Palm Springs definitely has a night scene! Our dinner was fantastic and they even made my kids pizza so all were happy.

The next day we decided to hit the pool and before we took off for home we visited the Palm Springs Air Museum. To say it was incredible is an understatement. They had so much inventory from the cold war, WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. The museum was huge! Best part was that it is attached to the Palm Springs airport and you get to watch fighter jets and old bombers take off! And if you are really brave, you can take a ride in them!

Basically, Palm Springs has something for everyone. We met a lot of friends coming in for the weekend from cold places trying to escape the snow for a few days and enjoy the heat, a bachelorette party, a babymoon, family trips, couples retreat, and even single travelers just looking to relax.

We loved the Parker Palm Springs but we have visited many other hotels in Palm Springs and they all offer so many unique features that going to Palm Springs is always a new adventure!

Turn Your Red-Eye Into Some Shut Eye

May 15, 2019 By Marvelous Mouse Travels

Thank you to Heath Hullihen for these great tips on flying!

Sleeping well on a plane has developed into a certain kind of art and into a healthy business with savvy travelers constantly scoping out new ways to make long flights more conducive to actual rest. Here are a few that really seem to have some payoff.

Splurge on a better seat. Sure, not everyone can afford a premium seat in first or business class, where you can take advantage of fully- or almost-fully-reclining seats and loads of leg room. But for long-distance flights, it can still be worth it to spend the extra money on an exit-row seat, a bulkhead seat, or a window seat. Flying on off-peak days, like a Tuesday evening, will also increase the likelihood that the flight will be less crowded and quieter.

Do the best you can with flight times and direct flights. While crossing many time zones always poses its own sleep challenges, do your best to pick a flight time and schedule that will sync up most naturally with your sleeping and waking times. Leaving in the evening will work better than trying to get REM at three in the afternoon.

Know your cues. Which side of the bed do you sleep on at home? Book on that side of the plane. Do you usually have a cup of tea before bed? Bring a few packets of your favorite herbal. And grab your own small travel blanket and comfy slippers while you’re at it (the airline pillow or blanket can be used for extra cushioning or lumbar support if you like). Spritz your pillow with a mild lavender essential oil. The more familiar things you can do, the more your brain will recognize the cues that it’s time for rest.

Sweet darkness, sweet silence. On most trans-oceanic flights, you’ll see the blue glow of nearly every seat-back screen flickering, no matter the time. We know that the type of light emitted by screens is proven to disrupt sleep. For any rest at all — let alone good rest — keep your screen off. Bring an eye mask or cap to block out as much light as possible. Use earplugs or noise-canceling headphones to create the quietest environment you can.

Buckle up over the blanket. When the plane hits turbulence, flight attendants are required to make sure people are safely buckled in. If they can’t see that your seat belt is fastened, they have to disturb you to check. Make it easy for them and for you — simply click the buckle over the blanket.

Rather than paying more for less in the airport, do some quick research before you leave to find the best travel pillow for you. There are dozens to choose from, and they range widely in price, portability, and visual quirkiness. Check out reviews like this one http://www.travelandleisure.com/style/travel-accessories/best-travel-pillows#therm-a-rest-compressible from the Travel + Leisure — and note how the reviewer coordinates the best pillows with each type of sleeper. Chances are, there’s a pillow out there that will support your head and neck and give you the rest you need.

What are your best tips for getting good sleep on an airplane? I’d love to hear them. And if you’re ready to plan your next (well-rested) journey, we are here to help! You can reach us today at www.MarvelousMouseTravels.com

Disney’s Very Merrytime Cruise

Now More than Ever! D23 Recap

Tips for Traveling with Kids

Discover Palm Springs!

Turn Your Red-Eye Into Some Shut Eye

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