See what happens...

When you arrive early, you get this!  A practically empty park.

Dinner at PCH Grill

Cute place to eat.  The food was OK.  I know that they have a Character breakfast here, but we came for dinner.  Nice place to try, but we probably won't be coming back.  However, I did have a lovely time with my kids!

Check out this...
    Aulani Brochure


Aloha!

I have never been to Hawaii.  True story.  And a sad one at that.
until today, I have never had the desire to go to Hawaii, because it was either Hawaii or Disney.  So, obviously, I chose Disney.
Now, there is another choice.  Disney and Hawaii in a paradise known as Aulani.   This beautiful resort was specifically designed for multigenerational Family Fun.  There is something for everyone, lovely pools and fun waterslides, beaches and spas.  Add to that several different restaurants.   I can't wait to go to Aulani with my Ohana.


Are you ready to book your Hawaiian holiday?  Drop me a line, and we'll chat.

Rhonda
tourguiderhonda@gmail.com

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My first WDW trip, part 2

Part 2

Our trip went off without a hitch.  The hotel was nice.  The WDW property is huge, and I loved driving all over it.  Everything was eerily familiar, and yet new to me.  The Magic Kingdom was the hardest to reconcile because it was so like DLR, yet so different. Everything was bigger, yet not necessarily better. That was the year of the Cake Castle, so that might have added to the surrealism!  I had a hard time finding my favorite rides.  It’s a Small World was unrecognizable.  Then, there were new rides and attractions, like the Hall of Presidents, that were wonderful for me.  We ate at the Crystal Palace, which was grand.

Epcot was wonderful, but I was totally unprepared for it. I left if feeling that I had somehow missed it.  WE did get some great souvenirs that exist to this day.  Disney-MGM, as it was called back then was terrific.  I knew enough to know that if we wanted to see Beauty and the Beast, we had to get there early.  Our traveling companions went off by themselves, and missed it!  They were so disappointed.   We saw the Toy Story parade.   Our hotel was across the street from Downtown Disney, so I spent quite a bit of money and time there.

The trip was overwhelming to me, in a good way.  Everything was new, yet so very familiar.  I truly felt like I had just touched the tip of the iceberg.  My next  Walt Disney World vacation would not take place for another 10 years.  By that time, I had the internet!  Trip 2 was the Trip of a lifetime.

Crazy Disney lady

So, how crazy is this Disney Vacation Specialist?  She's the one who gets there over hour early just so she could be first in line.   Note: it was worth it!

My first Trip to Walt Disney World, part 1

Disneyland Resort  vs  Walt Disney World,   part one

If you have been going to Disneyland all your life, but this is your first trip to Walt Disney World, this article is for you!  I grew up going to Disneyland once a year.  My Aunt, who worked at the Disneyland Hotel, gave us ticket books.  I hated it when the E and D tickets ran out!  Later, I was thrilled with the tickets that could get you into any attraction, as many times as I wanted.  Then, I was blown away by my first Annual Pass. I paid 99.00 dollars for my first Southern California pass.  That was a great year.  The way we visited Disneyland changed forever.  Now, we could just run over to Disneyland for an afternoon.  Stay all day, or just an hour, it didn’t matter.  I was a little afraid that I might grow tired of it, but that never happened. My love for Disneyland has only grown.

Then, in 1997, my husband’s nephew told us that they were going to Disneyworld.  My husband suggested that we might like to go with them.  They were happy to have us. So began my preparations for our first WDW trip.  Now, these were the days before the internet, and I was living in South America. (It’s like America, but south!)  My research was limited to books I saw at the travel agent’s office.  I decided that we would stay on-site, at the All Stars.  We would get 4-day passes, and go twice to the Magic Kingdom, because Animal Kingdom had not yet opened.

Right before we left, my agent informed me that, for the same price, he got us a lovely room at the Grosvenor.  I was appalled!  I wanted to be at a Disney resort!  He told me that this hotel was much nicer than the All Stars.  I didn’t care that it was nicer, but it was too late to change.