What's Your Favorite Candy Bar? Or Why Crowdsourcing Your Trip on FaceBook Is A Bad Call

You've seen it before; someone on your Facebook feed asks for recommendations for their upcoming trip to Walt Disney World. It's likely they have never been and are looking for tips and tricks to get them started. This post may or may not phase you. Maybe you get all excited and recommend all your favorite attractions, and where your favorite parade seats are, and where they just have to get dining reservations. Or you may just scroll right past thinking, that's a nightmare I don't want to get involved with. When I see those posts, I cringe. I cringe because not only will there be a ton of erroneous information, I cringe because their friends are cheerfully letting them know all the things they liked (and didn't) while in no way considering your family's needs and desires. They are telling you what their favorite candy bar is, not telling you where you can find your favorite.

Remember that jingle from Almond Joy and Mounds? Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don't. This is what a good travel planner can parse out for you. When you are considering a trip to Walt Disney World the last thing you need is the conflicting advice from your friends; some of them like nuts, some don't. What you really need is the help of a Disney travel planner. These people are trained in all things Disney. They have experience and knowledge your friends who went two years ago don't. You need to think about what it is your family likes, what your needs are, how you like to travel, and where you like to stay.

Consider this: Are you foodies, and if so, do you have food allergies? Are you the family that likes to go till you drop, or do you like a more leisurely pace? Does your family like to swim, or do you prefer a playground? Are you into broadway shows, or thrill rides, or both? Do you like a high level of convenience in your trip, or do you want to travel on a shoestring? Do you want autonomy, or do you like to have someone else handle the details? Maybe you want a resort with a lot of kitsch and activity, or maybe you like to stay in a quiet, out of the way place. These are not the questions your friends are considering when they recommend their favorite candy bars. They are assuming you like the same ones they do. Maybe you do, but odds are, there are some things that you like that they just don't.

So the next time you see a Facebook post asking for Disney recommendations, the best recommendation you can give is to refer them to a Disney travel planner, preferably one like me who has been over 50 times and can offer sound advice with up to date, accurate, information on all the policies and practices at Walt Disney World. I can't tell you the number of times I have seen downright incorrect information given by well meaning individuals. It's not that they are trying to sabotage your vacation, but if you listen to only the advice of friends, you are bound to be disappointed. Walt Disney World is constantly changing. They add and take away experiences on a regular basis. It's an amazing trip, but it can also be a disaster. It would be such a shame to think you are going to get one sort of candy bar and end up with your least favorite in return. Call a Disney travel planner. You will be so thankful you did.

Learning More About Walt Disney World Water Parks

As a Certified Disney Travel Planner, I have been learning quite a bit about the WDW waterparks this summer. I thought I would use an entry here to share a little of what I learned with all of you.

My family has never really been much into swimming until the two little ones came along. This summer we have spent well over 50% of our days at the pool. That has definitely changed my thoughts about whether or not to visit a water park durning our next Walt Disney World trip! I have always been on the opinion that the pool at our resort was plenty enough fun for us. Now I am starting to see how we could really enjoy a full day at one of the two waterparks on property.

First, lets talk about the new Water Parks and More ticket add on. With this upgrade you get the same number of visits to 6 resort destinations (Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course, Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course, and Oak Trail Golf Course) as you do park days.

So if you have a 3-day Water Parks and More ticket, you get to visit 3 Disney Theme Parks, AND  you get 3 visits to any of the Water Parks and More Options You can visit these other options on ANY of the days your are at Disney. It DOES NOT have to be on the same day you visit a theme park. So for instance, if you are going to be at the Walt Disney World Resort for 7 days, you could purchase a 3-day Water Parks and More ticket, spend days 1-3 at various theme parks, days 4-5 at the water parks, and days 6-7 playing golf. It's a great way to enjoy all that the WDW Resort has to offer!

Secondly, there are some ways to guarantee that you get some seats in the shade! I grew up in the days of River Country, watching my dad race to the shelter at rope drop to be sure our group had a place to recover from the sun! Those days are long gone. If you want a cabana-style accommodation at either Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach there are there for the renting! For as little as $60 you can rent an Umbrella area that will accommodate up to 4 guest. You have great seating, loungers and shade. But if you are looking for something a little more like what you might find at Castaway Cay, there are cabana-type areas at both waterparks in the $350 range. These can accommodate up to 6 guests and have a larger set of amenities that come included. For my high maintenance family, this sounds like a dream come true!

If you are a frequent visitor to either of the Disney Water Parks, I would love to hear your feedback! I am sure my family will be trying out one or both on our next Walt Disney World vacation. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Happy Birthday Surprise!

Hello dear Disney fans! Surprise! We are currently in Walt Disney World treating our eldest to a trip all his own for his birthday this year! He had no idea it was coming, but trust me, he loves that sort of surprise.

 It can get old for a teenager, having to traipse around Walt Disney World with a couple of toddlers all the time. In fact, he is often on his own in the single rider line at Space Mountain while Mr. Photos From The Parks and I are riding the Voyage of the Little Mermaid for the third time in a row! So this is the teen's special trip! If you are at the World, give us a shout on Instagram! And if you aren't you can follow our adventures there.

We will be back next week with posts for all you Disney DIY fans. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Off to Monaco!

I am off for some time with Mr. Photos From The Parks! I'll be out for a week and then back with more ideas for your enjoyment. Until then, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Gone To Disney!

Our family is off on another Disney adventure! We will be in Walt Disney World this weekend - stop and say hello if you see us! Then we are off for the idyllic Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort! It's one of our favorite places.

I'll be back to the blog in a couple of weeks; until then, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort Trip Report

Since we are gearing up for another fabulous vacation at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, I thought I would rerun this trip report post from last year's amazing trip. Disney does vacations right! If you want more information on this resort, or would like to book a trip, contact me at amy@wishdrawals.com and let me set it up for you at no additional cost! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Let me start by saying this was quite possibly the best Disney vacation Mr. Photos From The Parks and I have had since the kids have arrived in our lives. I actually felt like I had a vacation. It's been a couple years since I could say that! Why was it so great? I think there were several things that made us wish we had bought into this resort at the beginning.

From our very arrival, we loved the atmosphere of this resort. Mr. Photos grew up vacationing on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and it immediately felt very much like home. As many of you know, I grew up vacationing in Fort Wilderness, before there was anything more than the Magic Kingdom & River Country (and eventually Epcot). This resort took me back to how it used to feel spending our days as a family at Fort Wilderness. There was lots of down time and plenty to do if you weren't in the parks. We did most of it then and loved it. Hilton Head brought all of that back for me.

The pace of this resort also made our stay wonderful. We are used to our Disney vacations being of the fast-paced, non-stop, I'll-sleep-when-I-get-home variety. It's just not possible to do that here. The pace on the island was easy. If we slept in, no matter. If we missed the storyteller, he'd be back in an hour. If we wanted to eat later, no ADRs to worry about. The kids did as they wished and no one bothered to worry about it. It was such a delight!

Additionally, this resort is small, roughly 15 acres. To give you are reference point, Disney's Boardwalk Inn Resort encompasses 45 acres. The entirety of the Hilton Head Island Resort has roughly the same footprint as both areas of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. That's it. There are only 31 cottages here (with extremely spacious units), one pool and central activities area, as well as a few things to do at the check-in area. It's incredibly walkable with plenty to do without ever leaving the resort. But it's also easy to walk all around the Shelter Cove area, visiting several shops and restaurants.

The units were undergoing a major rehab while we were there. The color schemes were all updated to much more soothing blue/taupe/white theme. We had all new appliances as well as a full-size washer and dryer. This is the view of our main living area in the 2-bedroom villa. We had plenty of room to spread out even with all our baby/kid paraphernalia! There were several full sized closets as well as a mudroom for all our jackets, shoes, hats and stroller! That alone was a selling point for me! And although we didn't need it, both of these sofas fold out into beds. We could have easily slept 4 more people in our villa. It was more than enough room for us.

Disney also has a beach house and private beach area that is quite easy to get to. We drove, but Disney offers transportation, and there is also a very nice bike path for access. We had cool weather while we were there, but it didn't keep us from enjoying the beach and the amenities at the beach house. With the arcade and the beach, we were happy to spend the afternoon playing.

So, should you stay at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort? I say absolutely! If you are looking for a relaxing place to get away from it all, this is just the place you are looking for. Less hustle and bustle but still all the comforts of Disney you've come to love and expect. And for those of you who like seeing it all in one place, I've created a PDF fact sheet for the resort. Enjoy!

Scrapbooking Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

My regular readers will know that my family LOVES Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. It is one of the properties where DVC members can use their points, but you DON'T have to be a DVC member to stay there! We had one of our most enjoyable family vacations there for Spring Break 2014. . . . and I finally got around to scrapbooking it! I wanted to share these pages with you as inspiration for your own scrapbooking or as inspiration to go there! If you want to book a trip through me, your independent earmarked Disney Travel agent, feel free to contact me at amy@wishdrawals.com

Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Last Hurrah of Summer!

Merryweather's Cottage will be taking a break this week for our last hurrah of summer! We are on a balanced school schedule in these parts and school starts up July 30th! (I can hear some of you shrieking. Is that jealousy or disbelief??)

So we are off on a family vacation. We will see you all again next week with more great Disney related posts. Until then, may all your summer days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Disney Beach Sand-off Bags

We do a lot of summer travel. This summer we will have climbed sand dunes, visited several Lake Michigan beaches, as well as the Chesapeake Bay. And we have another blissful trip scheduled for Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort this fall. In every one of these scenarios we will be covered from head to toe in sand. Last year I found a deal for these powder pouches and bought them for our summer travel. We loved them and used them often. The concept is simple: the talc dries the water causing the sand to fall off your body. It works brilliantly!

Of course this summer, I can't find those pouches anywhere! But I reasoned that they couldn't be too hard to make for myself. A quick search through Pinterest brought me to this super easy tutorial for these talc filled bags. Mission accomplished!

If you are in the straight line sewing club, you can do this. If you happen to have two 4" square scraps of fabric, a small bit of ribbon and some talc laying around the house, then you could actually make this for free! And they didn't take long to make either. I whipped up these three in less than 30 minutes. (You may recognize these fabric scraps from the cute toddler pants I made several years ago for the littles.) We simply keep these talc pouches in a plastic bag in the back of the van (although if you have a dedicated beach bag, that would be awesome too) so they are ready for all our sandy adventures!

If you are planning to stay at any of the resorts in Disney that have a sandy beach, these would be a great little item to have packed in your suitcase! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Surviving July 4th at WDW | Wish With Amy

Did you know that July 4th is one of the peak travel days at Walt Disney World? Here are my six best tips to help you be prepared for and actually enjoy your Disney vacation:

1. Use My Disney Experience (MDE) Now- even if you missed some of the big things, even if it's the morning before you go in the parks, make your Fastpass reservations now. Also, if you plan on having a table service meal, make your Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR) now. You can use the MDE app for that too. Having a plan for the day will help you navigate the crowds and assure that you get to do some of the fun things you've been looking forward to doing.

2. Use My Disney Experience in the Parks - know your wait times, check to see when the next show is in your "land", use it to book last minute dining reservations. This is your biggest tool to help you navigate through the parks on a busy day. I use it while I'm waiting in line. I check the wait times for the next thing we want to do and for any nearby meet and greets, shows, experiences that we may want to hit on our way to the next thing. If you don't have an ADR you can see if there is anything available on the app and make the reservation right there!

3. Be Flexible - realize that during busy times, you won't get to do everything you'd like to do. Too many other people are trying to do that too. If you have planned for your Fastpasses and ADRs use these as benchmarks for your day. You know you can do those things, you have a reserved spot. Enjoy the journey to the next thing. You may run into an experience you haven't had yet, or something you might never had considered. There is plenty to do in Disney. Find the magic.

4. Consider a Resort Day - crowds will be heavy at the parks, this is a known fact. Consider spending a day at your resort; all resorts have a recreation line telling you what there is to do while you're there. In the past our family has spent time at the mini golf courses, using the arcades and pools at our resort, planning our own cocktail tour, even eating at resort restaurants we haven't tried yet. All the transportation on property is free. Consider taking a boat from Downtown Disney to Port Orleans for a pleasant stroll, or riding the boat from the Boardwalk or the Yacht Club round trip, or taking a monorail tour. If you are staying on property, none of this will cost you a dime.

5. Hydrate and Use Sunscreen - I cannot emphasize this enough. Even this veteran Disney traveler (with 40+ trips under her belt) finds herself in a spot every trip realizing we don't have allergy-friendly snacks, or another water bottle, or forgot the sunscreen for myself! You can usually find these things wherever you are, but the frustration can seem insurmountable. Find a cast member if you need help locating something. Also, set an alarm on your phone, or have your significant other double check you before you leave the room. These are the things that make happy Disney people into bloody stumps of human beings. Protect yourself.

6. Enjoy your family - I know it can be hard when everyone seems to be needy at the same time. I hate seeing people upset with their families in Disney. (Like, maybe, shouting at your husband on the bridge to Be Our Guest; guilty!) I try to say yes as much as possible when in Disney, and try to remember that this trip is making memories for me and my family. I want to make them good ones. Although that's not always possible. As my therapist likes to say, it's either a great trip or a great story!

Headed to Puerto Rico this week!

It's been a busy spring for me in the cottage with travel, travel, travel! This week I am headed to Puerto Rico to spend some much needed time with Mr. Photos From The Parks celebrating 20 years of marriage. I can hardly believe it's been that long! I'm certainly a lucky lady. And I am looking forward to seeing a new place and having some down time with just the two of us.

I'll catch up with you again on the 12th! There will be a few new projects to share with you for sure. Until then, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Off To Ireland!

Dear readers, I will be gone until April 12. I am traveling to Dublin Ireland with my niece so we can write and see castles! (Maybe even the Disney castle??)

We plan on soaking up all the local culture we can, eating in the pubs, listening to the music, wandering the museums and picnicking on the greens, so I will be away from the blog until our return.

I hope all of your Spring Break travels will be filled with fairy dust!

Surviving Spring Break at Walt Disney World

Spring Break travel is upon us and we know that Walt Disney World and Disneyland are very popular destinations! Here are my six best tips to help you be prepared for and actually enjoy your Disney vacation:

1. Use My Disney Experience (MDE) Now- even if you missed some of the big things, even if it's the morning before you go in the parks, make your Fastpass reservations now. Also, if you plan on having a table service meal, make your Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR) now. You can use the MDE app for that too. Having a plan for the day will help you navigate the crowds and assure that you get to do some of the fun things you've been looking forward to doing.

2. Use My Disney Experience in the Parks - know your wait times, check to see when the next show is in your "land", use it to book last minute dining reservations. This is your biggest tool to help you navigate through the parks on a busy day. I use it while I'm waiting in line. I check the wait times for the next thing we want to do and for any nearby meet and greets, shows, experiences that we may want to hit on our way to the next thing. If you don't have an ADR you can see if there is anything available on the app and make the reservation right there!

3. Be Flexible - realize that during busy times, you won't get to do everything you'd like to do. Too many other people are trying to do that too. If you have planned for your Fastpasses and ADRs use these as benchmarks for your day. You know you can do those things, you have a reserved spot. Enjoy the journey to the next thing. You may run into an experience you haven't had yet, or something you might never had considered. There is plenty to do in Disney. Find the magic.

4. Consider a Resort Day - crowds will be heavy at the parks, this is a known fact. Consider spending a day at your resort; all resorts have a recreation line telling you what there is to do while you're there. In the past our family has spent time at the mini golf courses, using the arcades and pools at our resort, planning our own cocktail tour, even eating at resort restaurants we haven't tried yet. All the transportation on property is free. Consider taking a boat from Downtown Disney to Port Orleans for a pleasant stroll, or riding the boat from the Boardwalk or the Yacht Club round trip, or taking a monorail tour. If you are staying on property, none of this will cost you a dime.

5. Hydrate and Use Sunscreen - I cannot emphasize this enough. Even this veteran Disney traveler (with 40+ trips under her belt) finds herself in a spot every trip realizing we don't have allergy-friendly snacks, or another water bottle, or forgot the sunscreen for myself! You can usually find these things wherever you are, but the frustration can seem insurmountable. Find a cast member if you need help locating something. Also, set an alarm on your phone, or have your significant other double check you before you leave the room. These are the things that make happy Disney people into bloody stumps of human beings. Protect yourself.

6. Enjoy your family - I know it can be hard when everyone seems to be needy at the same time. I hate seeing people upset with their families in Disney. (Like, maybe, shouting at your husband on the bridge to Be Our Guest; guilty!) I try to say yes as much as possible when in Disney, and try to remember that this trip is making memories for me and my family. I want to make them good ones. Although that's not always possible. As my therapist likes to say, it's either a great trip or a great story!

Here We Go!

Mr. Photos from the Parks and I are taking a well deserved vacation without the littles! We'll be gone for just a little while and in an attempt to honor that time of rest and restoration, I am taking just a couple days away from the blog too. Hello vacation!

Don't worry though, we'll be back to posting fun ideas next week with new posts and the start of a really big project I've been wanting to do for a long time now! I'll catch you then. And if you want to see what we're doing you can hop on over to the Instagram feed for some beachy eye-candy. (of the beaches, no me!) Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!