Epic Universe Preview for Everyone

New! Universal Orlando just announced that anyone can buy tickets to preview its newest theme park, Epic Universe! On sale til May 19, 2025!

In the last few weeks, Universal has only offered Preview tickets to cast members, Annual Pass holders, and Universal hotel guests. However, anyone can buy them now to enter the park with fewer crowds before its official opening. Just know that it is still considered technical rehearsals, so rides can shut down anytime. You’re not guaranteed that everything around the park will always be working.

Are you excited about this new Universal theme park? It looks amazing! When it opens, it will join the two current theme parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, and the Volcano Bay water park for an epic vacation!

Epic Universe officially opens on May 22, 2025!!!

Visit my post on Epic Universe for more details about this incredible new park, including how to buy tickets after it opens.

Contact me if you want to chat about planning a Universal trip. Subscribe to my blog and follow my Instagram and Facebook to get future updates on this new park.

Pics © Universal Studios

New River Gorge National Park

National Park Week 2025

Continuing our National Park Week series, let’s visit America’s newest national park – New River Gorge National Park & Preserve in West Virginia.

The New River Gorge National River was promoted to a National Park in 2021, but it is actually the second oldest river in the world, estimated to be between 10 and 360 million years old!

This scenic park encompasses 53 miles of the New River, which has carved the deepest and longest river gorge in the Appalachian Mountains. It is celebrated for its diverse natural habitats and historical significance. Of course, there is no shortage of outdoor recreation activities either.

Join us on our visit to New River Gorge National Park.

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.

AdventuresByAnne.com

Shenandoah National Park

National Park Week 2025

Shenandoah National Park is one of a handful of major national parks on the East Coast, just about an hour southwest of Washington, D.C. It encompasses the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains and is most famous for the Skyline Drive, a 100-mile scenic route along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains with many gorgeous overlooks of the surrounding mountain scenery.

Join us on our visit to Shenandoah National Park.

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.

AdventuresByAnne.com

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

National Park Week 2025

Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio is another lesser-known park worth visiting. This park was created 50 years ago to provide a natural oasis amidst the surrounding suburban sprawl and preserve the historical significance of the Ohio & Erie Canal that passes through the park. It also encompasses the Cuyahoga River, providing many opportunities for outdoor recreation. You can drive, bike, or hike through the scenic natural forests and farmlands to 30 waterfalls!

Join us on our visit to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.

AdventuresByAnne.com

Kolob Canyons – Zion National Park

National Park Week 2025

Most people may have heard of Zion National Park, but many may not know about the Kolob Canyons district of Zion. To kick off National Park Week 2025, let’s visit Kolob Canyons!

Kolob Canyons is about one hour northwest of the main Zion entrance in southwest Utah. It has a five-mile scenic drive with great views of towering red rock canyons and access to several hiking trails. Since this area of Zion is somewhat more remote, visitors often miss it. If you’re looking for a serene drive or hike with fewer crowds, Kolob Canyons is your hidden gem. It’s a good stop in addition to your visit to the central part of Zion National Park.

Join us on our visit to Kolob Canyons.

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.

AdventuresByAnne.com

National Park Week 2025

Happy National Park Week!

This year, National Park Week is celebrated from April 19 – 27th. To kick it off, the parks that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission on Saturday, April 19, 2025. The National Park Service parks and related entities will host activities all week. Learn what the National Park Service does to preserve natural and cultural heritage and provide recreational opportunities in communities nationwide.

With all of the federal budget cuts and layoffs affecting national parks and rangers right now, it is more important than ever to show your support for them. Before you go, be sure to check the National Park website for current hours, closures, and other useful information.

We love the national parks! We’ve been to most of the major U.S. ones so far, and honestly, we cannot name one that we didn’t like. It’s hard to pick a favorite. Each one is so different and so beautiful in its own way. Hopefully, you can learn more about each park and explore them as well.

View from Kolob Canyon in Zion National Park

Two years ago, to celebrate National Park Week, I started a series featuring a different national park each day. I’ve always loved the national parks around the country, so I want to share more of them with you and hope you can visit them, too.

For this year’s National Park Week, I’ll feature more parks we’ve visited. Follow along on my Park Visits page. Also, subscribe to my mailing list to follow along with emails.

Visit this NPS page for detailed information on all of the events to celebrate National Park Week. #NationalParkWeek

April 22nd is also Earth Day, so check out the Earth Day page for activities to commemorate this. #EarthDay

Visit the NPS site to learn more about the national parks and to plan your visit. Note that some parks require timed entry tickets, so plan ahead.

You can visit the parks virtually if you can’t travel to the parks in person! There are also many virtual events.

Feel free to contact me to chat about a national park trip. Hopefully, we’ll see you out there!

Pics ©National Park Service

Epic Universe Single Day Tickets on Sale Now

Universal Orlando finally released single-day tickets for its newest theme park, Epic Universe! On sale now!

This amazing new park opens on May 22, 2025!!!

Initially, the only tickets offered were 3+ day tickets or packages that allow multiple days at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure (and Volcano Bay, if included), plus one separate day at the all new Epic Universe. All ticket lengths only allow one of those days at Epic Universe. You don’t have to specify which day you’re going to which park, but you may only enter Epic Universe one time during that timeframe.

Now, as of March 13, 2025, you can buy single-day tickets to Epic Universe without buying a ticket package that includes the other parks! I know a lot of people have been waiting for this option.

However, if you want to go to the other parks also, you may want to do the math to see which combination of tickets will be most cost effective. If you want to visit Epic Universe for more than one day, which will likely be necessary if you want to do everything in that park, you can buy multiple single-day tickets or buy them in conjunction with a multiple park ticket package so that you can visit all of the Universal parks.

Are you excited about this new Universal theme park? When it opens in 2025, it will join the two current theme parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, and the Volcano Bay water park for an epic vacation!

Visit my other post on Epic Universe for more details about this incredible new park.

Contact me if you want to chat about planning a Universal trip. Subscribe to my blog and follow my Instagram and Facebook to get future updates on this new park.

Pics © Universal Studios

EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival 2025

The 2025 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival at Disney World has started! It will be held March 5th – June 2nd this year!

We love this festival! Its most unique feature is the amazing topiaries. There are so many incredibly detailed and lifelike floral topiaries of Disney characters and various other objects all around the park. If you go, definitely go around to find them all.

Another favorite is the different food kiosks with creative foods and drinks to try. It’s fun to go with others so you can share something from each kiosk. There’s no way you can eat everything yourself, at least not in one day. Check out this Food Kitchen page for a complete list of the food offerings this year.

The Garden Rocks Concert Series also returns to the America Pavilion Theater with a long lineup of artists. View the concert lineup here often, as the performers can change. Some popular performers can fill up fast, so line up early.

If you want to guarantee yourself a seat, you can also reserve a dining package, which will get you a meal during that day and guaranteed entry to the concert show of your choice. The concerts occur at 5:30 PM, 6:45 PM, and 8:00 PM on select nights and are included with your EPCOT admission ticket. You can listen and watch from the back of the open-air theater as you walk by the America Pavilion, but if you want to go in and sit down, you’ll need to line up early or book a dining package.

There will also be scavenger hunts, a butterfly house, themed garden areas around the World Showcase countries, play areas and other activities for the little ones, photo ops, and plenty of merchandise. For more details, view this page for the festival:

EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

There’s no shortage of things to do at EPCOT for the next few months. Hopefully, you can make it to Orlando to check it out.

Please contact me if I can help you plan your next Disney trip.

Pics ©Disney

No More Virtual Queues

Beginning February 25, 2025, Disney World guests can experience Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT through a standby queue or as a Lightning Lane experience. The Virtual Queue will no longer be used for these or any other rides.

Virtual queues are helpful with the launch of new attractions and experiences, so they may use them again in the future.

Please visit my Lightning Lane page for more information on using Lightning Lanes during your trip.

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about planning your next trip.

Pay 50% Deposit on Select Disney Cruises

Book a Disney cruise by March 14, 2025, and pay only half of your required deposit on the day you make your reservation.

This offer is valid on any new reservation for select Disney cruises departing between June 16, 2025, and May 31, 2026, that does not require final payment at the time of booking. The remaining balance will be due at the time of final payment.

This offer is not valid on Disney Destiny sailings departing November 20, 2025, through December 3, 2025, or on any sailings on the Disney Adventure. This offer is not valid on categories with restrictions (IGT, OGT, VGT), suites or Concierge-level staterooms.

For more details on this limited-time offer, visit the Disney Cruise Line site.

Note that these sailings were previously announced and have been available for booking for a while; they are not the recently announced Summer 2026 Sailings that will open for booking next week. However, if you’re going to do one of these qualifying sailings, this is a great offer to lock in a cruise with a lower deposit and save towards the final payment.

Please contact me if you need help planning your next cruise. Bon voyage!

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