Running on Coffee and Christ
We are an energetic couple, focused on building a community that is able to impact their families, friends, and their world by; Growing their Faith, Improving their Fitness, and Pursuing their Future.
The topics we discuss, revolve around the hopes that YOU are inspired to better yourself and that you could dare to dream above and beyond all that you have ever imagined for yourself.
Running on Coffee and Christ
Episode 15 Planning Your Family's Perfect Disney Adventure
Dreaming of a Disney vacation but overwhelmed by the endless options and planning details? Our conversation with travel expert Kateland Sibert unlocks the secrets to creating magical Disney memories without breaking the bank or losing your sanity.
Kateland shares how budget-conscious travelers can experience Disney World starting around $1,000 per person while still enjoying the full magic. We explore the differences between value, moderate, and deluxe resorts, revealing how accommodations like Pop Century and Art of Animation offer premium perks like Skyliner access without the premium price tag. Ever wondered what makes that Disney bubble so special? This episode captures the intangible magic that keeps families coming back time after time.
Timing is everything at Disney World. Learn why July and August might offer shorter wait times despite Florida heat, and how traveling during school sessions can transform your experience. Kateland's insider knowledge on dining options demystifies character experiences, dining plans, and those iconic Disney snacks everyone raves about. Plus, discover why Memory Maker photos are considered "non-negotiable" by seasoned Disney travelers.
Beyond the parks, we venture into conversations about Disney Cruise Line, Universal Studios options, and how families can combine multiple Orlando experiences into one unforgettable vacation. Most surprisingly, we reveal why working with a travel agent like Kateland costs you absolutely nothing extra while potentially saving you hundreds through promotions, upgrades, and stress-free planning.
Whether you're a Disney first-timer or looking to elevate your next visit, this episode delivers practical wisdom for creating those precious family memories that last a lifetime. Ready to transform your vacation planning from intimidating to inspiring? This conversation is your first step toward Disney magic.
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Hey guys and welcome back to the Running on Coffee and Cries podcast. We are so excited to be here for episode 14.
Speaker 2:Yep, episode 14. So we've got a special episode. This time we're going to be talking to a travel agent about traveling and I like, why are we talking about traveling on Running, on Coffee and Cries podcast? But it's just important to think about. You know, family time, family time where you get together. You get to experience different things that we have in this and Christ podcast, but it's just important to think about. You know, family time, family time where you get together. You get to experience different things that we have in this life and a lot of runs that you go on. You know, when your running journey progresses, you wind up traveling to be able to run. There's a lot of people that go places to run and you know we can hit on that with. There's a run at this place that we're going to talk about today, but we're just excited to be able to have this time to be able to talk about it and just think about all the things that we're going to be doing.
Speaker 1:Yes. So today we're specifically going to be talking about planning your vacation to Disney World. If you haven't been, you probably at least want to go once in your life. And today we have an expert with us. Her name is Caitlin Seibert. I am so excited. Thank you for joining us today. So, caitlin, will you tell us a little bit about yourself and what it is that you do?
Speaker 3:Okay, Thank you for having me first You're welcome. So I'm Caitlin Seibert. My full-time day job is I'm a math teacher at Wallace State, I'm at the Oneonta campus, okay, but one of my biggest passions is traveling and, like y'all, I'm very passionate with traveling, and traveling with my family and exposing specifically my girls to different areas, different things to do, and so for a while now, I've been planning trips for my family, okay, and last summer they finally talked me into becoming a travel agent.
Speaker 3:So now I am an independent travel advisor with Disarella Travel Company Okay, where we specialize in many destinations, but specifically Disney Okay, disney Cruise Line, disney World, disneyland.
Speaker 1:There's so much with Disney, right? Yes, probably a lot more than I even know. You can't get it done in one trip.
Speaker 3:I've not as many times as I've visited, and I've been going since I was 18, I have still not done everything I want to do Just give us a roundabout number.
Speaker 1:How many times do you think you've been? Oh Are.
Speaker 2:Give us a roundabout number. How many times do you think you've been? Oh Are we in the teens, or are we?
Speaker 3:We might be in the teens. Wow, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Now I went once when I was a child, like two, and I don't remember that and that's when it was new, because when did it come out? In the 80s, I mean, like I think it was, I'm not sure Anyway, but I did go then. And then I went once in high school with like the band or whatever, and then we went as a family and honestly we have said that's one of the best trips that we've ever taken.
Speaker 3:Unless you've been there, you don't really understand the magic bubble. It's true.
Speaker 1:And you sense it from the minute you enter that Waltalt disney world. I agree, it's a bubble of just happiness, and I don't think it matters the age, like because we have our son gosh. When was that that we went 2021? Or 2022, anyway, I know how old he looked yeah, I think he was probably 12 or so and then our girl was like four and they both had. We had an amazing time together. You don't have one kid that feels left out. You know, it's just. It's just good.
Speaker 1:I can't explain it like that for everybody yes, the older ones even like doing what the younger kids are doing and the younger kid, yeah, it's just great.
Speaker 2:Um, and the park itself um, I've noticed with most parks they they accommodate, you know, younger kids with multiple parents.
Speaker 2:You know, like the with the kids share whatever that kids swap where the parents come um, but disney, I think they really do that um, above and beyond, like what some of the other parks we've been to, the way that they handle that and they, they really put you as a priority. Um, because you know so one of your parents is going to wait in line for that long time and then they want you to also reap the benefits, so like they put you at the front, you know, automatically, because someone in your family waited a really long time to ride that ride, the other parent shouldn't have to wait as well.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:And they do a really good job of that. But yeah, like I said, both kids were entertained the entire time. And but yeah, like I said, both kids were entertained the entire time.
Speaker 1:And it feels so safe. Yes, like that's one thing that really stuck out to me, especially being a mom. You know, like I felt like not, maybe, so then let my 12-year-old go off by himself, but I would definitely let my 15-year-old go off by himself with some friends. Like that feels safe to me, and like you have your stroller and you just push it up to this other wad of strollers and you're not worried in the least bit that somebody's going to steal everything that you have. People are watching.
Speaker 3:Yes, undercover people that are. See, that's so cool. There was somebody um speaking of safety. We were waiting in line at hollywood studios for um, donald and daisy, okay, and when they came out, I believe that somebody behind us that was not part of our party they were actually recording Donald and Daisy coming out, but somebody caught on to my kids being in their video. And they handled it so beautifully, but they stopped them from recording and had them make sure that they weren't getting other people's children in the video. That is so above Wow.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, okay, so I know that I think the number one question what is the number one question people ask you when it comes to Disney Planning the trip? I know to me, the first thing I would want to know is how much is it going to cost me? Yes, and the budget like are there different price points that you can? Can you do this budget friendly and still have a really good time? And obviously I know that there's the ceiling is endless on how much you could spend. But uh, why don't you walk us through that whole when someone is getting a quote from you for a trip, um, what that looks like price point wise.
Speaker 3:Okay. So, first off, the only reason I get to go as many times as I do is because I am about budget friendly. So, Disney does a great job. They have good neighbor hotels. They have what's called value resorts.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:That is your all-star and I love the all-star resorts. I've stayed at them. It's all-star sports, all-star movies and all-star, and I love the all-star resorts. I've stayed at them it's all-star sports, all-star movies and all-star music. Okay, music is our favorite because it has family suites there, which is a little bit pricier. Okay, they also have the favorite.
Speaker 1:My two most booked is probably pop century and all-star I mean not all-star art of animation okay, I believe we stayed there art of animation is unreal, like absolutely unreal.
Speaker 3:Pop century is probably um my top favorite value resort okay because art and pop have access to skyliner, okay, so if you want to say low, low end and just because I say low end, I mean low end price range yes, I don't mean low end quality. It is not it's not.
Speaker 1:I can attest to that. Because we stayed at art of animation, I would stay there again. 100. It still felt so. It felt luxurious to me.
Speaker 3:You know, okay, I mean, that's where we stayed, many, many times yeah um, but I try to tell people to expect per person to at least spend somewhere around a thousand dollars per person.
Speaker 1:Okay, a thousand to a fifteen how length of a stay would that be?
Speaker 3:um, probably three, four nights okay I would not suggest anything under that, unless you were going for a specific reason. Okay. But the value resorts, the all-star. You have transportation. So one perk of staying on a resort at Disney is transportation, complimentary transportation, and so we always fly down. That's just something that we budget for. We have driven before and it wasn't terrible Some of my clients drive down and that's just something that we budget for. We have driven before and it wasn't terrible.
Speaker 3:Yeah, some of my clients drive down and that's fine, but I don't want to drive to the parks. I don't want to try to handle any of that, sure, um, when you're staying at the all-star resorts, you can get on the buses, okay, and they'll take you. But when you stay at pop century or art of animation, you have access to this skyline which which I loved. I love this. That's probably a non-negotiable for me, sure.
Speaker 1:This Skyliner, I agree. It's a ride all in itself. It is You're just in a little bucket.
Speaker 3:It's private to you and your family and it takes you directly to Epcot or Hollywood Studios. So if you're staying at pop or art of animation, you only need the bus for animal kingdom or magic kingdom, and so I will pay for convenience yes, I agree, because that's what helps.
Speaker 1:Makes the trip more enjoyable to me is having that convenience. Um, so what are some of the more pricey? So what are some of the more?
Speaker 3:pricey options. There's also moderate resorts. That's going to be like your Caribbean Beach, which also has Skyliner access. Okay. So you have those options of your moderate resorts that are kind of in between Port Orleans. That's a favorite for my clients. But then you have your deluxe. Okay, so I will be experiencing my first deluxe this summer, yay yay wow, um, I will be staying at beach club. So the reason I chose beach club is because you can walk into epcot nice epcot is one of our favorite resort we love it too.
Speaker 3:Yes, but you walk directly in okay and it will take you the back, which is where Ratatouille is located, mm-hmm. But you also have access to the Skyliner from Beach Club.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:So that is why we chose Beach Club. So now?
Speaker 1:does the Skyliner only go to Epcot and Hollywood Studios? Do they think that they're going to expand the Skyliner transportation? Do they even have the footprint to do that? I don't even know.
Speaker 3:Not that I know of.
Speaker 1:You haven't heard any talk of that.
Speaker 3:There's several resorts, the Riviera. You can hop on the Skyliner.
Speaker 2:The Caribbean.
Speaker 3:Beach. You can hop on the Skyliner.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to think if there's another, so is the only way to get to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom from anywhere by bus.
Speaker 3:Actually no. You can also stay at a deluxe resort. I'll be doing this in the fall. Okay, Now I go. It's part of my job. I have to experience this. That's right, that's right, we're going to stay at the Polynesian Resort.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:You have your deluxe resorts in each resort area, so I chose Epcot resort area for June. Okay, this fall we're going to be staying at a Magic Kingdom okay deluxe resort, which is the Polynesian nice.
Speaker 2:So you have the monorail that runs through those contemporary Grand Floridian and Polynesian, so it'll run there and it runs from magic kingdom to epcot, okay I had thought, like when we, when we stayed there, I remember there was the option to do park jumping and that if you were staying in one of those type of resorts where you had that tram system between the two, it'd be very convenient to just hop and pop, you know, like hop in one place, go see another. If you're going for specific events or specific like concerts and things have you park hopped.
Speaker 3:I am a park hopper to me that's not a non-essential. Usually if I have first time people that are visiting disney world and they're overwhelmed by everything they want to do, I say it's perfectly fine to spend one day per park. Yes, that there is nothing wrong with not getting a park hopper.
Speaker 2:And that's what we did. We did four days, four parks.
Speaker 3:I do a park hopper because I like to watch the wait times at other parks Uh-huh. And if a wait time at Magic Kingdom is lower than wait times that I'm experiencing at my current park, I'm going to park hop.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Specifically, I love park hopping from Epcot to Magic Kingdom because of the monorail access Okay. I love park hopping back and forth between Hollywood Studios and Epcot because of the Skyliner. So it's a quick little 10, 15 minute Right, hardly no wait.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. So I mean, if there's a wait line that's like 90 minutes at one place and then 30 minutes at the other and it takes 15 minutes to get there.
Speaker 1:You can ride two rides for the cost of one or for the time of one. Yeah, yeah, essentially yes. So basically your budget can go anywhere from. You're really paying for convenience, like how convenient do you want this trip to be correct?
Speaker 3:um you turn it into what you want it to be right when I'm quoting a non-negotiable to me. I can negotiate on resort, I can negotiate on park hopper, but one absolute non-negotiable that I always advise people to do is to get the memory maker yes I mean the, the pictures that come with memory maker I agree fantastic, there's photographers all over the parks or photo ops. You can experience it. You can enjoy watching your kids with their meet and greets and you can just watch and soak it in, because there's somebody snapping pictures continuously.
Speaker 2:Right, and do you just like you don't? I'm trying to remember there was like a watch or a band or something that we wore. Is that they like? Scan your band? Yes, and that's how they identify what pictures are with what family, and it's like all that is on the same exact account, like you're able to just log in and see everything that had to do with your trip and it's all under that, so you don't have to carry your wallet or anything.
Speaker 1:It's just that everything and I think that's why I love disney much. It was just so customer focused, like they really want to make this trip just enjoyable, you know? I mean you really feel like when I got there I didn't leave thinking, man, I just spent a ton of money and I wish I had. You know, it's like let's do it again.
Speaker 3:You know I'm planning my next trip. Before we make a plan.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes. So guys there are, and when it comes to the budget, even you might be thinking gosh, $1,000 a person. I've got five people in my family that still, you know, $5,000 I've got to come up with. But how far in advance can you book your trip so that you can, you know, be making payments slowly towards that?
Speaker 3:Well, Disney just opened their 2026 dates. Okay, disney just opened their 2026 dates. So if you're wanting to start paying and book a trip, it is always my advice to book early. Okay, all it takes to confirm your Disney reservation is a $200 deposit.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, that's not much at all, okay.
Speaker 3:And if you have to alter. I have many clients that want to go a specific month, but then some unexpected things come up. They can't go that month. All I have to do is have many clients that want to go a specific month, but then some unexpected things come up. They can't go that month all I have to do is call and fix it and we bump it back, okay, and we bump it.
Speaker 1:I mean, disney is very accommodating I will say this is kind of a sidebar, but while we were on our trip we had I'm trying to think what we had hollywood studios and magic kingdom back to back and we were like we're exhausted. So we felt like we were able to call our agent and be like, can we swap our part day? Like can we move the day that we were going to be at magic kingdom? Can we do animal kingdom? We needed a slower day and that was so easy to do and like we didn't even have to sweat it at all. She took care of it and you don't have to pay for your services either, do you? Does Disney give you something?
Speaker 3:Yes, so it does not matter if you book a Disney vacation with or without a travel agent.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:There is, you're still. That price is still. It's not going to change.
Speaker 2:Right, and you can look.
Speaker 1:I've had people that are like I have found this for this price, can you do this? And I do it. Yes, so that it's not like, um, you're not, it's not right and like. So it's not going to cost you extra to have these experts and literally they're experts. She's been so many times. She knows the tips, tricks, you know. Uh, she's gonna get the best deal for you and I watch for promos right um, disney is very good about releasing some sort of promo right now.
Speaker 3:The promo for 2026 is when you buy dining plan, your kids dining plan is free.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, nice things we were going to talk about we are, we're gonna.
Speaker 4:I don't want, I don't want to hit it yet because there's, I mean the food deserves its own topic we could do a whole episode on disney, I feel like.
Speaker 1:But now when we went it was covid. They did not have any dining plans and we didn't get to do any character meetups, so and we still had an amazing time, um, okay, so we've talked about budget and we did talk somewhat about the lodging, all the different places that you can stay. Correct me if I'm wrong is there not camping options as well?
Speaker 3:there is, there is a campground, um, they also have dvc cabins. It's the disney vacation club. So okay, like a timeshare okay, a little bit, but they have their brand new cabins, but they also they do have a campground. Okay, and people love it too.
Speaker 1:Yes, I've heard people doing that. What do you think about people that do stay off?
Speaker 3:I think if that's what works for your budget, I think that that's fine to stay off property. But I think when you stay off property you're honestly losing a little bit of that magic.
Speaker 1:I agree, I do, and are you really saving that much money?
Speaker 3:well. So you can't book a package. So when you stay off of property you're further away, you're going to have to pay for parking, you're going. So a perk of staying on resort is lightning lane reservations. That is the old genie plus that is the fast pass system. So when you stay on resort you can purchase and start booking your lightning lanes seven days in advance. You don't get that luxury off resort.
Speaker 1:Do you recommend buying lightning lanes? Do you do it for certain?
Speaker 3:rides. Okay. So I will always, always, always pay $20 for the single pass. Lightning lane for Guardians of the Galaxy, okay.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 3:I will pay the $20 every day. Okay, it is hands down my favorite ride Okay.
Speaker 2:It's.
Speaker 3:Cammie's favorite ride, mm-hmm. We, like I said, I pay for convenience. Mm-hmm. I don't want to stand in a two-hour wait, right, so I would much rather wait 10 minutes.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 3:Two hours. So I do purchase the single pass lightning lanes. The same for seven dwarfs. Okay, I think that one's $14. There's flight of passage. I will always do a single pass lightning lane. Okay.
Speaker 3:Multipass. It really kind of depends on the situation, on when I'm going. I personally do okay. There's been maybe one or two days in all of my trips where I'm like I'm gonna risk it, okay, and that's usually when there's an event. So Magic Kingdom, mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party yeah, they close Magic Kingdom down early at 6 pm yes so a lot of people don't even go to magic kingdom that day, so I'm not going by multi-pass lightning lane for that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that makes sense. Less travel during the daytime, correct? I did have one question, because we're talking about, like, lodging before we move on from there. But when it comes to the resorts and the camping and different things like that, the, the resorts that you're calling budget friendly, the ones Now, what I remember is we really only just slept there. I think we went to the pool a couple of times. It wasn't the best temperature time of year for the pool.
Speaker 1:It was a little cool. We went during Halloween time yeah during Halloween.
Speaker 2:But as far as like the resorts, like when you move to different resorts that are closer to the park, do they have actually more amenities? If you said I just want a day at the resort, are there other things that the resort offers other than just a bed, tv and a pool?
Speaker 3:So some places have the specialty dining. Ohana is a favorite of people. They love to have that dining experience. That is at the Polynesian Resort so you can walk over. Okay. The Contemporary is where Chef Mickey is located. Okay, there is a steakhouse located at Contemporary as well, mm-hmm. For Beach Club. We're right next to Cape May's Breakfast, okay, so a lot of the resorts will have resort dining. Okay, which? You still have access to.
Speaker 1:Okay, like you don't have to stay at that place to be able to enjoy that dining. You don't have to stay at that. No, I gotcha.
Speaker 3:It's just the convenience of walking over. If you do stay at a deluxe resort, you do get the privilege of after hours or extra park hours okay on select nights okay, now correct me if I'm wrong too.
Speaker 1:Like if you stay on resort period, you did you get to enter the park early?
Speaker 3:early entry. There is no way around that, because once you scan to get into the park, they have everything blocked off and you have to scan to get past them.
Speaker 1:For early entry. Okay, and well and well. No, I don't want to get too ahead of myself. Okay, next topic when is the best time to go?
Speaker 3:The best time to go is kind of subjective for your personal goals for Disney, um, so lower wait times, obviously July and August, that people don't want to go when it's hot in.
Speaker 1:Florida, so people will kind of avoid those times because they don't want to get hot.
Speaker 3:Right, I will, I'll deal with it yes. Okay, I think Disney does a great job of your wait times are spent inside. Okay, so, with a lot of the rides. Now there's some rides where they're outside, but as far as heat, I'll brave the heat. Yep, endure the lower wait times.
Speaker 1:And we're here in Alabama. It's not too far off the realm from us anyway.
Speaker 3:It's really not you. Weather-wise, the most pleasant is probably going to be your November to March-ish. Okay. We went this past March and the weather was fantastic. Nice I've been in August when it was hot Mm-hmm, it was fun. Yeah. I would really kind of avoid major holidays.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's. My next question is when is the worst time to go?
Speaker 3:So you probably do not want to go on Christmas Day.
Speaker 1:New.
Speaker 3:Year's Day. The parks have been known to close down due to capacity on those days. My typical advice is you want to avoid the school crowd? Okay, so, when the school, when schools are getting out for Christmas, probably before Christmas is a good time. Okay, so December, that first couple of weeks of December, after the kids go back from Thanksgiving break Yep, and right before they get out for Thanksgiving, christmas break, christmas break, uh-huh, yep, and right before they get out for Thanksgiving, christmas break, uh-huh, yes.
Speaker 1:And you might be like my kid can't miss school. Let your kids miss school.
Speaker 3:Sorry, we uh. I'm a teacher here. I tend to pull my kids out a couple of days before a break.
Speaker 1:I mean, sometimes you just you gotta go when it works for your family too, yes, I mean sometimes you just you gotta go when it works for your family too, yes, I mean.
Speaker 3:And your kids are really learning while they're down? Yes, they are. You got living with the land. That ride is underrated, yeah, okay I don't even know that ride that is a epcot, but it's talking about the vegetation of all these locations yes, yes, yes, I do remember that good. I mean, your kids learn a lot.
Speaker 1:Or even the one where you're in the ball. What is that ride? Yes, oh, the communications one. Yes. Gosh, what is the name of that ride?
Speaker 2:Oh well, but they actually even in the living with the land they had a coffee plant there just sidebar. You know they, you know they had a coffee plant going there that actually had coffee cherries on it. We were excited to see that in a full bloom.
Speaker 1:Okay, so also talking about times to go, there is the marathon and half marathon that they do there.
Speaker 3:Can you tell us when they do that? Okay, so they do marathons frequently, Okay so it's not just one. It's not just one.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:So they have the marathon weekend, which is in January. Okay, okay, so for 2026, that's January 7th through the 11th. Unfortunately, that is sold out. Oh already, yeah, so it is very intense trying to get into those races. They usually sell out the day registration opens.
Speaker 1:Wow, I didn't realize that.
Speaker 3:So you kind of have to be prepared, because it's a bucket list thing, but I didn't realize that.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's good information to know.
Speaker 3:It's very intense, Like you have to have your mind made up. Okay, and you've got to be in that queue ready to go.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay.
Speaker 3:The one that's coming up this year, the last one, and dine, and it is in october. Okay, unfortunately it is sold out. It's during the food and wine festival that's in epcot right.
Speaker 1:Yes, we went during that time frame. That was really nice. Yes, I love the food and wine festival.
Speaker 3:Yes, so the disney princess half marathon? Okay, that registration has not opened yet, but for next year it's it's February 26th through March 2nd.
Speaker 1:Okay, and they offer different runs.
Speaker 3:They have the 5K, they have the 10K. They have the half marathon. Then they have what they call a challenge, so it's combining some of those runs together.
Speaker 1:Okay, Now where do they do these runs at Like what park? Or is it in multiple parks?
Speaker 3:It's in multiple locations. So the, and then there is also the springtime surprise weekend. Okay, so those registrations for the last two have not opened yet.
Speaker 1:Where do you find these registrations at?
Speaker 3:Run. Disney is where you want to start.
Speaker 1:Okay, and you?
Speaker 3:can find all the information and the scheduling at rundisneycom.
Speaker 1:Okay, so would you advise, let's just pretend that we're gonna run, okay, yes, um, we would need to get our registration in for that and then maybe book probably yes, probably okay because park tickets and stay that is not included. With right the right okay because, I mean, I was just saying you would want to make sure that if you to get in on the race, that's the first thing that you would need to do and then take a trip, maybe the Disney Princess Half Marathon.
Speaker 3:that registration actually opens June 24th.
Speaker 1:Okay, I need to write this down.
Speaker 2:We don't have to dress like a princess to run it, though, right.
Speaker 3:Some people do dress like a princess?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think they do. I think they do um, do you run, because I know that you work out?
Speaker 3:I like to think that I can run it but while I'm running, I actually wonder why I've done it to myself.
Speaker 1:I actually do really want to run disney, though, because I'm thinking too that there's not a lot of elevation there. I would love, yes, I would love to participate in this and they they actually have yoga oh really yes at Hollywood Studios now most of these resorts too. I'm sure they have gyms inside them, don't they? Okay, that's good to know. All right, let's move on to food. Okay, all right. So you just mentioned, too, the Food and Wine Festival that they have. That happens once a year at Epcot. Right, tell us about that.
Speaker 3:Okay, it runs August through mid-November.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:It is the International Food and Wine Festival, so that is at Epcot. That is my favorite festival. This will be my third year in a row going to this festival, yeah. And they just have different vendors set up and specialty food representing each country. Yes, it's great If you've never been.
Speaker 1:I'm just going to speak for those that have never been. Epcot is you visit, like all these different countries, like that's the theme. So it's like when you're in oh my gosh, this isn't, I'm not going to get into this but like when you're in England. Is that where, like Alice in Wonderland?
Speaker 3:is United Kingdom. Okay, yes. And then like France.
Speaker 1:You're going to find Ratatouille there and Remy the Rod.
Speaker 3:And that Epcot's actually very underrated for finding characters. You've got to slow down and you will find Jasmine, you will find Belle, you will find Anna See, that's awesome, you can only find Anna and Elsa at Epcot.
Speaker 1:Oh see, those are good things to know, Because I think people just automatically assume you need to go to Magic Kingdom, where the castle is, and that's not true. They might be in their home country.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, now Epcot's set up, if I remember right. It's around a big body of water, correct? Yes, correct. If you look at it from the map view it kind of looks like an eight ball pen, but it's got a huge body of water that you walk all the way around and it's kind of like you're going around the world Each area of the pie. I guess if you were to divide it up into pies and so the food for that festival caters to those different areas also, and then the music and the atmosphere and the floral and fauna and everything about it is just you're soaking in a different atmosphere, every single, you know, every 20, 30 yards.
Speaker 1:You're entering a new world. Yes, I know that I feel like Epcot in general is underrated. Like people will say, if they're going to skip a park, they're going to skip Epcot, and I'm like what in the world?
Speaker 3:and we spend a full day at epcot we, we loved it too.
Speaker 2:I mean, we were like about education for homeschoolers yes yes and epcot.
Speaker 3:They have done a lot of updates and so, if you have been the past couple of years, it was closed off and there was fences up yes but it was for their renovations that they were doing so now you can see mickey and friends nice and you know they have figment figments underrated too we my kids love figment, I don't know why but they love figment and the things that you learn I think, too think there was a ride there that my kids love, sore, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:And you're just sitting in this little it feels like you're flying in this. It's just great and it was air conditioned yes yes, yes, that's, that's always when you want to go to, when you want to cool off or get out of the car yes, so to me the food was great in epcot, but there are certain snacks that I think the general public have knowledge of now, because everybody talked like the dull whip, um.
Speaker 3:So what are some of those snacks that are most popular at disney that you're like, you gotta have this well, my family were popcorn eaters, so if you have a so on day one which, if you book with me, this is also a prize that you have waiting for you is a popcorn bucket, okay, so all you have to do is have that popcorn bucket and it costs like $2.50 to refill.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 3:And so we snack on popcorn. We have that with us pretty much the entire time. My kids love it.
Speaker 1:The Dole Whips that is a must for my kids. Now, are these available in all of the parks? Like, can you get Dole Whip at every park? Because I don't think you can, but I don't remember which ones that you can.
Speaker 3:Especially Dole Whips maybe but the original one is at Magic Kingdom.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Now my favorite snack is at Sleepy Hollow. Okay, and it is a nutella waffle with oh we, we haven't had that one. Nice, they have beignets next to tiana's so I mean you just can't go wrong with some of those snacks I don't think so either, and I think beignets are underrated.
Speaker 2:Yes, by far like if you want to you. You want something that's going to spike your sugar really quick and be like, like, melt in your mouth. One of a good beignet is, I mean, it hits the spot so do you?
Speaker 1:do? They have some good ones with that in epcot at probably in the paris section maybe, or even the new orleans, oh yes we did have the crepes.
Speaker 2:It's not just sweet crepes either, isn't it? Yeah, it was like savory, savory crepes.
Speaker 3:Yes and that's hidden. That's like on your way to ratatouille yes so I like to get a crepe and then get in line for ratatouille yes chocolate kind of makes me feel better about waiting that line that ratatouille ride is quite nice too.
Speaker 1:There's just something cute about getting in that little rat. It's just fun. Yes, my favorite ride at epcot was the uh on the frozen ride though I love that little ride.
Speaker 2:So speak on this. If you're planning a family trip, obviously you don't want to spend all your money on food. What are some things that the park allows that you think are best practices for children and kids, young ones, for being cost effective and helping to have snacks Are you allowed to bring outside food and what are our limits on that? To have snacks Are you allowed to bring outside food and what are our limits?
Speaker 3:on that. Okay, so I actually we all pack our mugs, our Yeti mugs, or? Whatever. And what we like to do is we like to fill it up with ice the night before. Put it well if you have a fridge, you put it in the freezer.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 3:And so, and there's free water refills all across the park. Okay, so we don't drink any kind of drink drinks at the park. Okay, we take our mugs, and I actually have a shoe holder that I have cut and it is attached to our stroller.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:And I mean it's just filled up with different mugs and we refill our water at any water refill, they'll give you a cup of water.
Speaker 1:They'll give you a cup of ice.
Speaker 3:But as far as snacks go, we have snacks in our backpack Cheez-Its, slim Jims crackers. We keep those kind of snacks with us.
Speaker 1:I think we even took those little Uncrustables with us?
Speaker 3:They don't. They're not.
Speaker 2:Does anyone ever bring a stroller, even if they don't have kids that are a stroller age?
Speaker 3:I really think it's a great idea. I do too.
Speaker 2:It was so convenient to have a stroller with our little girl and it's like I'm going to miss this and I'm like, well, just bring a stroller.
Speaker 3:You this and I'm like well, just bring a stroller, you don't have to have a kid.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, so we rent a stroller, so I can rent a stroller for you, okay?
Speaker 3:so I always get a double stroller sometimes. So my oldest is six she's gonna be seven in August and then my youngest is four okay, so sometimes they're to the age where they kind of like to get up and walk around. Well, we just put all of our luggage in the stroller and just push it around. Sometimes they get tired. I always advise to get a stroller no matter the age.
Speaker 1:How much is the stroller rental?
Speaker 3:It really depends, usually for about a week a single stroller. You're looking at around $100.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's totally worth it and you just pick it up from whatever park you go in, right?
Speaker 3:Well, you can rent from Disney, so the company that I use. They will actually drop it off at your resort, and so when you check, in, but that's yours for the week.
Speaker 1:That's nice and it's a Bob's stroller, I mean they're nice, they fold up, not rickety or anything like that.
Speaker 3:I always rent the stroller and have it waiting for me.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's Okay. That's nice to know. You kind of got us off on our food, calvin. Okay, I do got one more question about the food, the dining plans. I don't understand that because, like I said, they didn't offer that when we went. So tell us about that and do you do the dining plan yourself?
Speaker 3:So I'm actually doing the dining plan for the first time myself in June. So we're going for a week in June, and so they have two different options. It's either quick service or the dining. Okay. So with the quick service you get two quick service meals, and that's going to be like your Casey's Corners where you get hot dogs.
Speaker 1:Which is fantastic? Oh yeah, it is.
Speaker 2:That's on the main street.
Speaker 1:Right there you can see Magic King. Yes, we went in there. I remember that.
Speaker 3:Yes, so it's going to be all your quick service that you can order through your app. Okay, so you get two quick service meals. You get one snack and then you get one resort refillable mug.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:And that is per person, per night you're staying. So if you're staying four nights, each of you have four credits worth of snacks to use, okay, and it actually expires the day that you check out, okay, so by midnight. So that is the quick service, dining, the dining service. You get one quick service, one table service, one snack and then resort refill now you still have to use like your reservations, like on the app.
Speaker 2:Is that what you would do with the dining service? Can you do that? Or do you have to just show up and say, hey, I need a table?
Speaker 3:um, for the table service it is recommended to have reservations. Okay, uh, depending on the time, sometimes I've been able to get reservations while I'm there. So in march on a whim, we were like, hey, let's sit down and eat and calm down, and so I was looking. A lot of the reservations were taken but we lucked up and we got Garden Grill at Epcot, which is character dining, and it was fabulous. I usually recommend, if you're going to do multiple sit-down restaurants, it's going to save you some money to just go ahead and do the dining plan. We are doing the dining plan in June and we are eating at Ohana, which is character dining. We are eating at Cinderella's Royal Table. Okay.
Speaker 3:Where else are we going? Cape Mays, we're going to do the Fantasmic Dinner Package, and so we'll eat at one of those restaurants and then Topolino's Terrace. So we are doing five character dining experiences Wow, so we are doing all we're doing five character dining experiences wow, and it was just an extra.
Speaker 2:It's going to vary depending on your party size and stuff like that, but it only costs us an extra five hundred dollars okay which, if you imagine like sitting down at a restaurant with a family of four, you're going to wind up paying 80 bucks easy, anywhere you go nowadays for a full meal, full service yes, so that's really not that bad, for you know, four or five different meals all together with character dining and reservations and all that and this, the their dining plan, is a way to turn disney into an all-inclusive trip right look, because if you're booking, you're going ahead and paying for it.
Speaker 3:All you have to do is show your that's true, I mean.
Speaker 1:So it's already paid for it's you're not gonna have to bring as much spending money. You know, it would just be like for souvenirs or whatever, right? Okay, that's interesting to think about. Um. Now next question do you have to have a dining plan to be able to do the character dining?
Speaker 3:Okay, so, like I said in March, we got a last-minute dinner reservation at Garden Grill. Okay, I will tell you, for a family of four it was close to $300. Wow, okay, okay, so you're looking at a minimum of $60 per adult. You're pretty much paying for character. Yes, yes, my kids love it, I love it. It's um, but it's a buffet style dinner at most, character interaction okay reservations, because they're just bringing you food, and just bringing it and so, and if you want more, you ask for more.
Speaker 3:We want more cornbread yeah we got more cornbread right, and so You're not really hurting for food.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's good, because I know too a lot of times people will be like, well, I don't want to sit down and eat because I want to ride as many rides as I can. But I really think you just have to think about what's your goal in this trip, because you could book one trip at one time and your goal would be different, like I want to ride everything. And then your next trip would be like, like I want to be more leisurely, I want to have more character dining, and really I mean that's where you step in and you're like, hey, I can help you meet whatever it is that you're wanting to experience out of this trip people start off and they do not want the dining plan because that sticker price is very yes, yes it is very shocking, I will say.
Speaker 3:But then when they start sitting down and talking about their wish list of where they want to eat and what they want to experience, I'm like well you're gonna be best to consider, I'm never gonna push any kind of plan on people right but when I look and see if they're wanting to sit down at four different restaurants, hey, you probably want to consider the dining yes, and weigh your options out.
Speaker 1:And didn't you say the promo now is for?
Speaker 3:2026 yes you purchase a dining plan for adults. You can, you're kidsy free that's what.
Speaker 1:That's great. Now, what is the age limit on the kid? It ages three to nine okay, right, that's good to know. All right, do you have any more questions about food or do you have anything to add about food?
Speaker 2:I was just thinking about. There's a lot of randomness that happens on a trip that you can't plan on. What are some of the most odd scenarios? Because you always think of someone losing luggage or things like that what are some.
Speaker 2:As a travel travel agent, have you had any experiences where you've like someone had a struggle and they've reached out to you like hey, what about this? Because you know, like you were just talking, holly, a minute ago about like we had a day that we were going to have a break in there and we're like we need to push this day up to a different one because we're like exhausted. And then we had that moment to kind of recoup and it was fantastic and our agent was like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. We're done. And this was. We reached out to her like nine o'clock at night.
Speaker 2:You know we weren't sure if this was actually going to happen and she made it happen. It's like I see you as that role, Like people would reach out to you in the midst of a crisis or in the midst of like you hear the stories of funny things that happen. You know what are some funny things that happen, or some crises that you've solved, like being an agent so far so far there hasn't been um anything too crazy.
Speaker 3:I know I've had a client at disney and they none of their pictures were uploading from memory maker so I just told him, I said go ahead, I'll handle this I think I had it fixed in about 10 minutes, wow, and so that is a perk of using a travel agent when you have something like that go wrong, all you have to do is call me, text me and you go on with your life and enjoy your time.
Speaker 3:And it doesn't take away from your family. It doesn't take away from memories because I'm handling it on the back end and it really doesn't take that much time. With cruises there has been some, maybe some passport or wrong identification, birthdays and issues like that. Um again, it was something that was easily fixed on my end right.
Speaker 1:I think that they're easy to work with, right? I mean, they're yeah, and that makes it so much better. Um, I do have one question, because when we went they were still doing I don't know what the bus was called, but it would pick you up from the airport and it's a magical express and it doesn't do that anymore. So what do y'all? What do you do if you're at the airport? How do you get to Disney?
Speaker 3:so that is something else that I can actually book for you, okay, um, I try to. When I'm planning a Disney trip for my clients, I try to make it as little. I tell people I can do as little or as much as you want me to sure and so from stroller rental from getting from to and from the airport, disney has very. They have various modes of I shouldn't say modes various companies to go to and from the airport. Gotcha and it is Mears. Mears is what has replaced Disney's Magical Express.
Speaker 3:Unfortunately, it's not complimentary Gotcha Like Magical Express once was. But, there's also private transportation.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what do you do as a family?
Speaker 3:We do private transportation, okay, so that's what you would recommend then so you're not waiting on a schedule right right right, um, the last time that we did mirrors because I stayed at a value resort it probably took us about almost close to two hours to get to our resort, and that's just not something you want to wait, no, no, no, give me to disney, yes there's some transportation services that will actually take you to a park when you get there and then bring your luggage back to your resort. Wow, some of them will have. They'll let you go get water.
Speaker 1:They'll do a grocery pickup so there's many options yes what you're wanting to use now I know, when we went to, uh like, our check-in wasn't until like later that day, but we got an early flight so that we could go ahead and expect, like Disney Springs um, that's a. You don't have to have a ticket to get into Disney Springs. It's basically like a shopping area, but it's. It's just this. You want to experience that too. It's a great place to go. So we, we wanted to do that, and but our, our hotel or our resort, took our luggage and held it for us. It was just, and we also had a grocery order that we put in. They took care of all that for it.
Speaker 3:It's just, it's amazing they take care of it. I like to call it the disney difference. Yes, when we were there in march, we were standing in line for a rock and roller coaster and I look around at some of the people that are working in the parks and it was morning so there was dew on the benches and dew on the garbage cans and there were people wiping that dew off and cleaning it and making it dry.
Speaker 1:Wow, really yeah.
Speaker 3:Who thinks of that?
Speaker 1:That's amazing, that's good and that's what you're paying for. Yes, it may be a sticker shock, but it's going to be the best hands down experience that you have in a vacation and you may be exhausted, but it's all worth it. Tell us a little bit about the cruise line.
Speaker 3:So the cruise line, that industry is actually picking up a lot. Ok, because what they've really done is taken park experiences and they put it on a boat.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 3:You still get character interactions. Nice, there's still experiences like water slides on the boat so there's a lot to do there. Um again, that's a sticker price shock for a lot of people yeah but what I have learned is that the sticker price, if it's up, there's probably more inclusions than maybe a more budget-friendly. Because, with budget-friendly. If the sticker price is lower, you usually have to add a drink package or Wi-Fi or anything like that there's going to be hidden costs in there.
Speaker 1:Yes, so with.
Speaker 3:Disney. They have two private islands now Castaway Cay and the Lighthouse.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:I forgot the name of it Lookout Cay. Okay, I forgot the name of it Lookout Cay. Okay, and that's their newest private.
Speaker 1:Where are those at?
Speaker 3:The Bahamas area.
Speaker 1:Okay, Bahamas Okay.
Speaker 3:And so there's actually a 5K trail. Oh nice, they do have a barbecue buffet. So with Disney, everybody gets 24-hour room service.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:People say to you know, order the Mickey-shaped ice cream. Yeah, yeah, they have the endless soft-serve ice cream. Oh, wow. You don't have to purchase a drink package.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Of course, alcoholic drinks are not included in the price Right, right but sodas, regular coffees. That's included in your price at Disney. Nice we're going on a Disney cruise in December. That's the girls' Christmas present, okay, and so we're going, and literally the only thing that we're going to have to add on to our cost is the Wi-Fi package, and that's just because my husband works 24-7.
Speaker 1:He's got to be accessible Right.
Speaker 3:Wow. That is all we're having to add on.
Speaker 1:Is this going to be your first time on the cruise line?
Speaker 3:It will be my first time with Disney Cruise Line.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, so we've got the parts, we've got the cruise line. Is there anything else? Disney that I don't know. Have you been to Disneyland?
Speaker 3:I have not, but I'm wanting to go. Yeah, for the Oogie Boogie Bash, yeah, yeah. So Disneyland, I believe, is pretty underrated. It's the original. Mm-hmm. And so they have. Even though it's smaller, it's going to be a different experience than Disney World, and I think that's where a lot of people go wrong, and that's where they experience their disappointment with Disneyland is they expect it to be Disney World? Right, but it's still a disney experience just different right disney world. They have the incredibles roller coaster, they have toontown right.
Speaker 1:So it may be, uh, I always imagine it just being a little bit more smaller and more intimate, yes, um, but they are going to have things that are inclusive to them, that you'll never get their experience unless you actually go there, which I've never been to california, no, anyways.
Speaker 3:But well, you can actually purchase the lightning lanes within your package really with disneyland I don't know why it's different but it is.
Speaker 1:I'm sure they've got some kind of reasoning on that yeah. Do you have any uh, extra questions that you would like to ask?
Speaker 2:no, I, I think this is just awesome. I think that you know everyone it's probably Disney would probably be the hardest to plan on your own. You know most vacations that you would go on. A lot of times you can figure it out Like, if I'm going to the beach, you basically got to figure out, hey, kind of where do we want to be, what kind of, what kind of resort or hotel or whatever we want to be in, and are we going to drive or are we going to fly? That's pretty much it.
Speaker 2:But then, like disney, there's so much to think about and and having an agent to be able to kind of handle that, and I like that, um, like you don't make any more money, whether or not someone has a higher package, lower pack. You know like you're not pushing something on someone, you're just basically helping them make their journey easier yes and I think it's important to do that.
Speaker 2:But, like my, my main thought is like, when you have your kids and they're young, experience life. You know, experience things. If disney's in that world for you, then do it.
Speaker 2:If it's not, then experience other things you know, just get out there and enjoy time with them, because that that time is just fleeting your kids. You. You turn around and Jude's starting to drive now and it's like when did this happen? So just experience life as much as you can with your kids. That's what I would just encourage each of our listeners and if you decide to do Disney, find you an agent.
Speaker 1:Yes, For sure. I got another question. I'm sorry guys, I'm squirreling but Universal. I'm sorry guys, I'm squirreling but Universal. Do you plan trips for Universal?
Speaker 3:I actually can plan anything, so that's the most common question I get.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Do you just do Disney. I do not do just Disney, I do Universal. You know, there's a Universal in California as well.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:I do all-inclusive resorts.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:I do cruises, all cruise lines. Mm-hmm of resorts. Okay, I do cruises, all cruise lines, so I can do domestic travel. So if you're wanting to go to New York, I've done a road trip. I just recently booked a road trip for a group of six people. They're going to road trip through California Nice, so I booked that for them. Okay, so I can really do almost just about anything.
Speaker 1:Now I had a friend that their first Disney trip. I'm trying to imagine how crazy this would have been. She has three children, but I think they had a good experience. But they did Disney and Universal at the same time and I think they did a couple of days at Disney and then a couple of days at Universal. So if someone was wanting to do that, because they might be pressed for time, they just might be like we've got to experience it all in this amount of days. What parks in Disney would you recommend the most? If they're like I can only do two, let's say that they're just like. I want you to pick because I don't know.
Speaker 3:I would first take into consideration the age of the kids and what kind of thrill they're looking for. Honestly, I think if it was two days, I would recommend a two-day park hopper.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Because in case they want to ride Tron, for example. But Hollywood Studios is going to have a little bit more of your thrill it's Hollywood Tower of Terror. Rockin'. Roller Coaster. So there's Slinky Dog. That's not really a thrill ride, but it's a popular ride. Then you've got your Star Wars. So if you have older kids, especially Star Wars fans.
Speaker 1:Hollywood.
Speaker 3:Studios. Epcot is just a classic.
Speaker 1:I just keep going back to Epcot, me too. My kids love.
Speaker 3:Magic Kingdom. We end up at Magic Kingdom every single day. Yes, Just because we love Magic Kingdom. And that's a staple point for Disney World is the castle.
Speaker 1:Sure yes.
Speaker 3:I would just really look at the age of the kids and their interests, because I have had people look at split stays and kind of weigh their options out.
Speaker 1:Are there packages for people to stay on resort for Disney and stay on resort for Universal?
Speaker 3:Oh, girl, I can do that. We can make anything happen. Whatever your hearts desire, we can make it happen. I would honestly suggest that because, like Disney, universal has their perks too of staying on their property.
Speaker 1:Yes, and Universal has all the Harry Potter, like we're Potterheads. Yeah, we absolutely love it and honestly, we've said that we would probably go there again before we went to Disney because our trip got cut short. Just family stuff that happened.
Speaker 3:Well, now Epic's open Epic Universe.
Speaker 1:Yes, and like we're dying to try that out.
Speaker 3:I mean, what they've done with Epic is unbelievable.
Speaker 1:Now, does it cost people for you to give them quotes? I mean, obviously you don't want to waste someone's time if you're really not interested in taking a trip, but is it free to get a quote?
Speaker 3:Yes, and when I work up a quote specifically for any package? Really, I will do a budget-friendly a moderate, and then I will do a deluxe.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:So I give you three. For Universal and Disney World. You get three hotel choices. I tell you what I've included. I like to start like I will always include a photo package yep, I agree, you need it that's essential, but unless you have specified park hopper, not park hopper a lot of times when people reach out to me, I ask them the basic questions so I know what kind of quote to work up okay, yeah, so it as a park hopper, is that more expensive? Yes, but it's a solid price.
Speaker 1:I thought so that's awesome. Did you have anything else? No, I'm good. Thank you for joining us today. We might have you back so we can talk about things that are not Disney and talk more about cruises. I know my mom was speaking a while ago. She was like, could she book us a trip out west, because we've always wanted to tour the national parks and things, and I'm like I think she can, so that would be a really cool topic to talk about and just, guys, get out there, explore God's wonderful creation that he gave us. We have some beautiful spots here in the United States to visit and Caitlin here can set you up so that you can see them all. So join us next time. We pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. We'll see you next time.