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Join us for day 1 of our leaf-peeping trip through Massachusetts with a quick stop in Boston.
If you’re on Instagram, Follow my channel @adventures_by_anne to see all the pics.
Come back tomorrow as we drive through New York and New Jersey.
Phew, there’s been so much trip news lately! But now, it’s time to get back to more road trips!
We’ll be doing another cross-country road trip, a giant 3-week loop across the USA, visiting many National Parks and other exciting sites! Follow along!
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If you’re on Instagram, Follow my channel there to see all the pics.
Bring the road trip snacks!
We just got info about some of the venues at Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. Lookout Cay is Disney Cruise Line’s newest retreat on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas.
Guests will arrive at Mabrika Cove, which means “welcome” from the indigenous people of The Bahamas, and experience the warmth of the Bahamian culture.
The colorful Goombay Cultural Center will invite guests to join in the “Junkanoo” celebration, a signature Bahamian festival filled with joyous music and vibrant parades.
The Triton’s Trumpet Stage area will provide plenty of fun family entertainment, while Serenity Bay will be an 18+ retreat featuring a tranquil beach, dining area, and private cabanas available for reservation.
Shop for souvenirs at Treasures of Eleuthera, which will feature locally made gifts and crafts by Bahamian artists.
I’m sure there are many more fun features yet to be revealed. Follow along and I’ll share them as I hear about them.
Several of the Disney cruise ships will begin making port calls to this island on their Summer 2024 sailings, already available for booking. Some sailings will even have port stops at both Lookout Cay and Castaway Cay, Disney’s current gorgeous Bahamian island! Those sound awesome! Bucket list!
The initial sailings to Lookout Cay will be in high demand. If you’re interested in booking one of those sailings, do so soon. If you want to chat about booking a cruise, feel free to contact me.
Pics © Disney Cruise Line
Celebrate the holidays at Universal Studios Hollywood from November 24, 2023 – January 1, 2024!
Enjoy the music and fun of Grinchmas™ at the Who-tacular Celebration. Meet the Grinch, his dog Max, and other Who-ville residents. Catch the lighting of the one-of-a-kind Dr. Seuss inspired tree and other Who-ville decorations.
Join the celebration in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter as Hogwarts™ castle lights up for the holidays and festive decor brightens up the streets of Hogsmeade™. Listen to seasonal melodies from the Frog Choir while you sip on delicious Butterbeer™. (If the hot one is available, give it a try. It’s my favorite one!)
Of course, there will be plenty of holiday-themed food for your belly and merchandise for your shopping list around the park. You can also meet some characters in their holiday finest.
Don’t miss the beautiful tree, dining, and shopping in CityWalk either.
Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about a Universal trip.
Pics © Universal Studios
Now that Halloween is over, are you already planning for Christmas? I’ve already posted about the holiday festivities planned for Disney World and Universal Orlando. Let’s go over to the other coast to see what festivities are planned for Disneyland in California next. The celebration there will run from November 10, 2023 – January 7, 2024.
The Christmas Fantasy Parade will take place at Disneyland Park each day, usually at 3:30pm and 6:30pm, though check your app for the latest showtimes. Your favorite Disney characters will join Santa Claus for a merry musical celebration down Main Street, U.S.A. Gotta love those toy soldiers too!
Some rides, including the Haunted Mansion, “it’s a small world”, Mater’s Jamboree, and Luigi’s Rollicki’ Roadsters, will have holiday overlays.
Of course, there will be holiday decorations all over the parks and resorts too. Sleeping Beauty’s castle will be extra shimmery!
Don’t miss the nighttime shows! Disneyland Park will have the “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks and California Adventure Park will have the “World of Color – Season of Light” spectacular.
California Adventure Park will host the Festival of Holidays, a celebration of diverse cultural festivities with music, food and fun from the traditions of Christmas, Navidad, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa and Three King’s Day.
Be sure to catch Disney ¡Viva Navidad! – a fun street party featuring live musicians with folklórico and samba dancers along with Mickey and Minnie in their fiesta best!
Of course, there will be plenty of other holiday foods, decor, and seasonal merchandise around both parks and Downtown Disney.
We were there last December and the holiday atmosphere definitely made it extra magical and fun. If you want to chat about planning a Disney trip, feel free to contact me.
Pics ©Disney
Happy Halloween! To follow up on my post about the Haunted Mansion Parlor coming to the Disney Treasure ship next December 2024, here are some recipes they have shared for some spooky cocktails that you can make in the meantime. Perfect timing for Halloween.
Happy Haunting!
©Disney Cruise Line
Disney World Dining Plans are returning on January 9, 2024. If you book a resort package with a stay on or after January 9th, you can now add a dining plan to your trip.
A dining plan allows you to prepay for a certain number of meals and snacks at Disney restaurants and kiosks based on the length of your trip. However, even though you are allocated the number of meals listed below per night of your stay, you can use them at any time of your trip. So, if you want to use all your snack credits in one day, you can do that. Likewise, certain table service meals require two table service credits per meal so you would use more on those days. Any unused credits will expire at midnight of your check-out day.
There are two available plans to choose from, with the main difference being that the main dining plan also provides for meals at table service restaurants, in addition to the quick-serve restaurants.
Disney Dining Plan
– 1 Quick-Service Meal
– 1 Table-Service Meal
– 1 Snack/Nonalcoholic Drink
Quick Service Dining Plan
– 2 Quick-Service Meals
– 1 Snack/Nonalcoholic Drink
You will also get one Resort-Refillable Drink Mug per person per stay. Mugs are eligible for refills from self-service beverage islands at any Disney Resort hotel’s Quick-Service location, not refillable in the park restaurants.
Plans must be purchased for the entire length of your stay and your entire party (ages 3 and up). Table service restaurant reservations are still needed and can be made within 60 days before your check-in day. Not all locations accept the dining plan though and restaurants are subject to availability.
Note: In the past, Disney would let you convert extra Quick Service credits to use as multiple snack credits instead, but that is no longer allowed now. So, make sure to plan out your meals to use up your credits correctly.
For more details on the dining plans, visit the Disney Dining Plan page.
If used well, these plans can provide you with some savings on your trip meals. I suggest you view the menus of the restaurants you may want to eat at and calculate how much that meal would cost you if you paid directly vs using a dining plan credit.
If you want to chat more about adding a dining plan to your trip, feel free to contact me.
Note: this is different from the Play, Stay, and Dine Promo Card Offer, discussed in a separate post.
Pics ©Disney
Disney World will have a new after-hours holiday party this year in Hollywood Studios called Jollywood Nights.
You can dance the night away with live bands, see festive stage shows, and cap the night off with the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! nighttime spectacular.
Enjoy lower wait times for your favorite attractions, meet beloved characters dressed in their holiday finest, and feast on new holiday treats.
Jollywood Nights takes place on the following nights in 2023:
This special event takes place from 8:30pm to 12:30am but ticket holders can enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios as early as 7pm on the date of their ticket. No theme park reservation is needed to enter after 7pm. Ticket prices start at $159. Come dressed to impressed.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit the Jollywood Nights page below. Some dates are already sold out.
This adds a new Disney nighttime holiday party to Hollywood Studios, in addition to the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom.
As always, feel free to contact me if you want to chat about adding these events to your Disney trip.
Pics ©Disney
Disney Cruise Line has announced its sailing itineraries for early 2025. They include sailings to/from the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Australia, and the South Pacific!
Bookings begin on different days next week, starting Monday, October 30, 2023, for different levels of Castaway Cay members and other Disney affinity groups. General members (those who have never sailed on a Disney cruise) can book on Monday, November 6, 2023.
Sail on inaugural sailings on the new Disney Treasure ship or rare sailings from Hawaii and the South Pacific. Check out Lighthouse Point, a new Disney Cruise Line island retreat celebrating the breathtaking beauty and vibrant culture of The Bahamas. View the list in these pictures or on the DCL website below for the specific sailings.
Costs are generally the lowest when you book during this initial release, and some of the more popular itineraries can sell out FAST, particularly the Hawaii and South Pacific sailings. It is expected that there will be long waits on the phone with DCL. If you don’t need to apply a placeholder or credit to your new booking, it’s definitely going to be faster to book on the DCL website starting at 8am ET, or have a travel agent (like me!) do it for you.
For more details, visit the Disney Cruise Line Early 2025 Itineraries page:
If you would like me to help with your bookings, feel free to contact me ASAP. We love sailing DCL, so let me know if you want to chat about them. I have some recaps of our past sailings in the Trip Recap section of this site if you want to see what they’re like.
Pics ©Disney Cruise Line
Disney World is currently offering a Disney Dining Promo Card when you purchase a non-discounted package that includes a resort stay and park tickets on select resorts and days from late 2023 to early 2024.
The promo gives you a certain amount of dining credit on a digital gift card that can be used to purchase meals, snacks, treats, and beverages at participating dining locations across Walt Disney World Resort. The amount will vary depending on resort category and length of stay. A minimum stay of 4 resort and ticket days is required.
The offer is valid for stays that start on the following arrival dates:
The amount you get will be calculated approximately as such:
The number of packages available for this offer is limited so book soon. If you already have a stay booked on the eligible dates, you can call to see if this promo can be applied to it. Everyone in the same room must be on the same package. For more details about this offer, visit the Disney Play, Stay, and Dining Promo Card offer page.
Feel free to contact me if you want to chat more about this or anything else related to planning your Disney trip.
Note: this is different from the Dining Plans, discussed in a separate post.
Adventures By Anne 