Customizing Your MagicBands with My Fantasy Bands

If you have been to Walt Disney World lately you will notice that the DIY and customized Disney experience is at an all time high! LOADS of us are sporting our special shirts, hats, bags and now MagicBands. Of course, we at the cottage are TOTALLY into that!

Today I wanted to introduce you to one of my favorite products for customizing your MagicBand: My Fantasy Bands. These decals are professionally printed and can withstand the abuse of my family! We are still using these same magic bands a year later. And they have all been in the pool and the shower/bath and remain on the bands with no peeling. I am really impressed with the quality of these decals. In fact, if you have booked a trip with me in the last few months, you may have received a surprise package of these for your very own MagicBands!

These decals were really easy to apply, and they come with instructions on how to make them last. Plus she has ALL SORTS of great themes, some seasonal, some Disney related, some just for fun! I can't recommend these highly enough. And if you are on Instagram, you can see lots of her designs modeled by actual guests by following @myfantasybands. Have fun perusing Erin's site! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Kid-Size Vacation Package Now Available at WDW

Hello friends! I know its time to start thinking about he holidays and crafting but of my goodness this offer is too good not to share! You can head to Walt Disney World with your little for just $1055.00! Here are all the details:

If this package is in your wheelhouse, please give me a call as soon as possible! I'll get you booked and on your way to a magical vacation! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Off on our Disney Dream Cruise!

We are off on our first Disney cruise today! We will be aboard the Dream. If you happen to be cruising with us be sure to stop and say hi! I love to meet my followers wherever we go!

I can't wait to see all the magic that is in store for our family! As die-hard Disney fans our expectations are unreasonably high. Rest assured that you will be getting my trip reports once we are back ashore. I have some fun surprises for the kiddos (Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and a Cabana at Castaway Cay to starters!) and I am very anxious to dine at Remy!

Enjoy the weekend and until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Time for a Reboot!

Hello Mousekateers! It's been a while since I've posted on the blog, but since it's February and that's when the blog was born, I thought we'd give it a facelift and a new life! Those of you who've been following for a while will know that I have used a cloud based file system called Copy to share files with you. Unfortunately, they are shuttering that section of their business. So in an effort to keep all my files available to you, I will be rerunning those posts with new active links so you can still get your hands on all that DIY goodness!

And intermittently I will be sharing about our Disney vacations this year and how you can take your best Disney vacation with me as your guide! As many of you know I am a certified Disney Travel Planner. I can plan and book your trip AT NO ADDITIONAL COST. Disney pays my commission, so when you book with me you get my expertise for free!

So expect some fun new ideas, so terrific oldies but goodies and some travel news, all in one easy to find place! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

What Are The Best FastPass+ Selections? | Wish With Amy

If you are headed to any of the Disney Parks, then you may be wondering about FastPasses and how to choose them. FastPasses are a reserved time slot for a particular ride or experience at one of the Disney Parks. If you are staying at a Disney Resort, you will be able to make your reservations 60 days in advance of your trip. If you are not staying at a Disney Resort, you can make your FastPass reservations 30 days in advance. This is another reason I highly recommend staying at a Disney Resort.

This is a question I get all the time: What are the best FastPass+ selections? And while the answer completely depends on your touring style, the ages and heights of the people you travel with and your personalities, there are a few ways to figure it out.

First: There are some rides that have wait times that consistently exceed the 60 minute mark no matter the time of day or time of year. If you are at all interested in them (and tall enough to ride them), these are the FastPasses to get first. Peter Pan's Flight (MK), Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (MK), Meet & Greet with Anna & Elsa (MK), Toy Story Midway Mania (DHS), Test Track (EP) and Soarin' (EP) are all in this category. If you want to do these things without spending and hour or two, a FastPass is your best option.

Secondly: If your children have high expectations and don't deal well with adjusting and/or being flexible, you might want to consider opting for their favorite(s) at the best time(s) for them (like making sure you are there after breakfast but before nap).

Third: Decide if you are willing to use one of these strategies to go without a FastPass:

• Use the single rider line; if you don't mind riding as a single rider, you can easily cut your wait time in half.
• Be at the park for rope drop; if you can get up early and walk in as the park opens, you can go straight to your favorite ride. This has worked for us at several of the biggies with less than a 30 minute wait.
• Utilize extra magic hours; as a resort guest you can often get into a park an hour before it opens to the public, or stay an hour (or more) after the park closes to the general public. This allows for much shorter lines, and wait times.
• simply wait in line; sometimes it's just what you need to do. Arm yourself with snacks and games and just wait. More and more queues are becoming interactive too, with things to do/games to play as you wait.

If you are trying to make your decisions for FastPass selections, feel free to use this FastPass+ Selection printable we give to our clients. And until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Why Use A Disney Earmarked Travel Agent? | Wish With Amy

There are about as many ways to plan a Disney trip as there are people on the planet. We all have different priorities and expectations. But the one secret I wish more people knew about was the Disney Earmarked travel agent. Now, if you grew up going to Disney and you've planned so many trips you've lost count, then it's possible our service is not for you (although if you want to leave some of the hassle to us, you most certainly could!). But most people planning their first trip could really benefit from a travel agent, especially one who gives concierge level service up through the last day of your trip. That's what my team does.

Here are some of the most common ways we help you plan the best Disney experience possible:

1. We know when promotions are traditionally released and Disney notifies us of new deals all the time. We can't get you a cheaper price than what's offered by Disney, but we can be some of the first people in line for you.

2. We know the dates for your ADRs, FPs, Festivals, and Special Events. We can make sure that you are informed of the deadlines for your dining reservations, your FastPass+ selections, as well as special events and festivals that might be happening during your travel dates. We want you to make the most of your days at the Disney Resort.

3. We can get you the best chance at the dining reservations you want. I can't count the number of times a client wanted an Advance Dining Reservation but couldn't get it because they waited too long to book their trip, or worse, didn't communicate their desires to the agent. And even better, we will make all these arrangements for you; getting up early, staying up late into the night, whatever it takes to get you closer to your dream vacation.

4. We can get you the best chance at the Fast Passes you want. We know how the system works, and often that means staying up until the wee hours of the morning to get the first FastPasses available. That doesn't mean we can get you everything you want, but it does mean we'll take the first bite at the apple while you and your family are snuggled up tight in your bed.

5. We can help you come up with the best touring plan for you and your travel party. If you have never been to WDW before it can be tricky traveling through the parks. You can find yourself backtracking and criss-crossing the park several times in a day. If you have the expertise of people like us, you can spend less time walking and more time actually enjoying your day. We can help you come up with an efficient touring plan so that your meals, FastPass+ times and must-see experiences are more localized and move you through a park with ease.

6. We are on call during your stay. If suddenly you walk out of Peter Pan's Flight and realize you are caught in a downpour, we available via phone and text to help you decide your next move. If you decide that you want to skip one park and go back to another, but aren't sure about what to do, you can call us and we can help you get the most of that day. We are here to make sure your stay is the best it can be.

7. We've seen almost everything and know how it works. Confused about the dining plan? We have experience using them all. Uncertain of the best Disney transportation to use to get to your destination? We already know. Wondering if your ticket gives you access to waterparks on the same day as theme park access? Text us; it probably does. Want to view the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom but don't have a park ticket? There are ways to make that happen. Not sure what is free around the resort and what you have to pay for? We can help.

In short we can put our expertise to work to make sure your trip to Walt Disney World is as hassle-free and full of magic as can be. There is SO MUCH to see and do. Let us help you make sense of it all. Get a quote from me at amy@wishdrawals.com or visit our website at www.wishdrawals.com!

Lunch with An Imagineer | Wish With Amy

 It wasn't too long ago that I realized Disney had a very special dining opportunity that was perfect for three of our family members. If you've never heard of Dining with a Disney Imagineer, then you really need to read this article! Especially if you have a Disney geek or two in your next travel party.

Dining with a Disney Imagineer is available at the Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. As far as I know, this is the only place you have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with an actual Disney Imagineer! For my husband, our oldest, and me, this was the highlight of our trip!

We booked this experience in October of 2012 and immediately upon arrival at the Hollywood Brown Derby, we were checked in an received our very own Walt Disney World name badges. Hayes was already in his glory. His face says it all! This experience is recommended for those 15 and over, but as an overachieving science geek, foodie and Disney expert, he was the perfect guest even at age 11. We knew he would enjoy a four-course gourmet meal and have thoughtful, reflective questions for whomever our Imagineer would be.

We were seated at a table in a private dining room with 9 other Disney geeks, given a souvenir menu and met our Disney Imagineer. We were lucky enough to be dining with Bernadette Mosher, or Bernie as she liked to be called. Her position at the time was Director of Creative Development Services. We heard all about her work solving the challenge of making Spaceship Earth a reality, as no one had been able to construct a complete geodesic sphere prior to EPCOT being built. She talked about the development of Disneyland Paris, where she was the lead Imagineer for the Haunted Mansion and the Grand Canyon Diorama. She had a lot of great stories to tell and was very engaging!

The end of our meal came all too soon, but we were each given a souvenir plate, autographed by Bernie, as a keepsake of our experience, as well as a photograph, our name badges and the menus too. But the best take away for our family was the conversation! We were inspired and awed by the stories we heard and Hayes was ready to sign up then and there to work for Disney (aren't we all?)!

If you are wanting to book this experience, you need to reserve Monday, Wednesday, or Friday at noon. I recommend booking on your 180 day mark, as I wasn't able to find any seats available at the time of this writing! The cost is roughly $60 per person. As of this writing, the Disney Dining plan is NOT accepted for this event. Currently only the Hollywood Brown Derby is participating in this program. In years past, other restaurants were included, but that appears to have gone away.

I'd love to hear your experiences with this Disney dining experience too! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort Trip Report

For those of you who may be considering a trip to Hilton Head Island in the near future, remember that Disney has a gorgeous resort on the island that I HIGHLY recommend! We were there last April and had one of the best vacations ever! Head on over to the Wishdrawals blog and read all about it!