 As a frequent visitor and lover of Walt Disney World, I have to say there are still quite a few things I like way better that are done in Disneyland. Enjoy the list I have compiled and let me know in the comments if you feel the same or have other things you also enjoy better in Disneyland. THE HISTORY IT HOLDS  It is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. As a lover of all things Mr. Disney, this means the world to me. To know I am walking down Main Street where he actually stepped is very special. I get choked up when I stand in front of Walt Disney's apartment. It is located directly above the Fire Station next to City Hall on Main Street When I see the lamp in the window that is never turned off to show his spirit is always present I get the chills! EASILY ACCESSIBLE  Whether you are staying on property or in a hotel down the road, you’re still just footsteps away from both parks and the Downtown Disney District. Park Hopping is so much easier here, you literally walk out of one park and can walk right across to the next park within five minutes. There is also no bag check because you actually go through bag check to get into the welcoming area or through the other end which is Downtown Disney. MAXPASS Disney MaxPass is similar to our Fast Pass + program but still very different. It allows guests to book Disney FASTPASS reservations through the Disneyland Resort Mobile App and allows unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads for the day. The price for Disney MaxPass is $10 per person, per ticket, per day. (So just for the pictures alone that tends to be less expensive than WDW's Memory Maker.) Guests can not purchase this feature until they are actually visiting the park and for those of us programmed to do our FP+ selections so far in advance it can give you anxiety just at the thought. However you can take a breath because MaxPass is so much better! You may purchase Disney MaxPass when you purchase your ticket or as an add-on through the Disneyland Mobile App once you enter either theme park. Annual Passholders may purchase just a day through the app after entering the park, or purchase an annual plan for $75 that expires when their current pass expires. Since Disneyland does not have Magic Bands, you use a barcode on your smartphone or your ticket barcode to redeem your MaxPasses. You can select either park and make FastPasses. It does not matter if you’re in DCA and want to make a Disneyland FastPass, or visa-verse. The Disneyland app will show you a list of attractions and their current FastPass return times. Scroll through the list and select an attraction you’d like to reserve a time for. A nice feature on this screen is that you can also see the current standby wait time. That lets you know if it’s even worth picking up a FastPass for. One of the other reasons I truly like this system better than Walt Disney World's FP+ selections is that after making a FastPass reservation in the Disneyland app, you’ll be given the time that you can make another reservation. Your next FastPass reservation selection won't be available for another 30 minutes or until you redeem the FastPass at the attraction, whichever occurs first. We found that utilizing the alarm on our phone maximized our time. CHURROS Churros are the "Be all End all" snack for me and my family when we visit either Disney destination. That being said, Disneyland's Churros are so much better! They are larger and you have so many more options to choose from. You can get them stuffed, dipped, or even as an ice cream sandwich! Last time we went we tried the Fruity Pebbles Churro.  THE ATTRACTIONS Disneyland's version of several attractions are much better than those in WDW's Magic Kingdom Park. Some of those include, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Space Mountain. Some that are classic Disney favorites that are not in WDW are the Matterhorn Bob Sleds and Storybook Land Canal Boats. I also really loved Indiana Jones Adventure, it reminds me alot of Dinosaur in the Animal Kingdom Park. Personally, I enjoyed dining in Blue Bayou and watching the Pirates of the Caribbean boats sailing past while we ate. I also really loved the actual ride. It is way longer and has a large drop we are missing in Florida. Do you have anything special you enjoy more while spending time in Disneyland? Let us know by leaving us a comment down below. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
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 The Best Weekend Ever Heat rose on my face as I stepped into Diagon Alley. I saw the dragon on top of Gringotts Bank. Me and my family walked over to Gringotts and put our bags in the lockers. Then, we hopped on line for Escape from Gringotts and saw the inside of the amazing bank. There are crystals on the ceiling and I got to see the goblins. They were so life like. As we walked into a separate room, to my surprise there was a short movie. The movie shows you how Bill Weasley comes on the trip your about to take in Gringotts.  Then we walked out and the picture of the goblin told us the safety rules. After that, we got onto the elevator. When you get out you get your goggles (3D glasses). The thing I don’t get is why do you go down an elevator just to walk up two more flights of stairs. I don’t get it. Then we were told what row to go to. As we went to our assigned row I thought, how cool is this! You know, it’s really just amazing. Then the gates opened. We boarded the vehicle. We took off as soon as everyone was fastened in their seats. Bellatrix Lestrange asked us questions and then whipped us with her wand and we were off. Straight down. Then curve. We see the screen again, we spin around two times. It’s so cool. Then the guards of medal armor show up. Harry, Hermione, Ron and, a goblin show up. The guards then fall taking the track down with them. Bill Weasley saves us. I’m going to stop there. I don’t want to spoil the whole thing. We got off the ride LOVING IT and wanting more. Some of my family now want to watch the movies.  We explored Diagon Alley a little more we found the dark and gloomy side which is devoted to the Dark Arts. Next up we headed to Ollivanders Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC to pick-up some wands. I opted for the collector’s wand of Hermione Granger to add to my collection, I already have the Harry Potter wand. My sister decided to get the interactive wand of Ginny Weasley. This wand allows you to practice learning spells at certain spots throughout Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. We did all the wand spots there are wizards to help you learn your craft. There’s a spot where you can trade your money and get gringott coins. You can buy wands with the money or just keep it. It’s so freaking cool to experience it all.  We ate breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron. It was so good. There are no chocolate chip pancakes there, but you can try Butter-Beer and pumpkin juice. The butter-beer is the best frozen, hot/warm is so disgusting. Don’t do it. Cold is good, too. My dad prefers cold. It reminds him of an egg-cream...something he had when he was little.  Chugga, Chugga, Choo-Choo...the Hogwarts Express pulls into the station. I was so excited to ride it. Make sure you have a park to park ticket so you can ride. If you don’t, better luck next time. The train line is so cool to walk through. You can run through the wall just like in the movie. We board the train and goto cart G. G as in Gobblin, they would say. It’s so amazing to sit next to the window. You have to ride the train two times in order to see both movies. My family rode it three times. When we approached Hogwarts we met four nice ladies who were dressed up as the Pygmy puffs. Me and Hailey, my sister got to hold one, they let us pose for a picture with them. It was so nice. We then headed to Hogwarts to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. You first see Hermione, doing a spell to make us fly. Four people per cart. I don’t want to say anything about this ride. It’s too good to spoil. Across the way is Flight of the Hippogriff. My sister loved that one. She made me go on it like 10 times. Well… maybe not 10, but, it sure felt like 10. It was probably three or four. Anyway, after we did that we went into shops and explores Hogsmeade in detail. Last year they closed the Dueling Dragons Roller Coaster to make way for a new Harry Potter themed ride that is coming 2019 - I can’t wait to go back for that. They made it so you can see through the cracks of the wood. I found one, it’s where the two boards meet. You can’t really see anything but, I saw a bit. Maybe, when you go there, it will be done and you could ride it. If you do, tell me about it in the comments.  When we were in Diagon Alley, we got to meet the Knight Bus driver and, the shrunken head. They were so nice. I was in a Gryffindor scarf and my sister, Hailey, said that she was from house Minion. They said, “Are you a house-elf?” My sister was so confused about what they were talking about. Anyway, she still doesn’t understand it even though we explained it to her. Back over at Hogwarts, the show was about to start. uIt’s so cool. Right? I think you should talk to your parents about planning a trip to Universal Orlando Studios Florida: Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Things you might also want to know...well your parents might want to know.
Thank you to our favorite little blogger, Jordan Mulhearn for all of her coverage on this exciting weekend! Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram  For nearly 100 years, Knott's Berry Farm has been drawing fans from all over the world. Our beloved Walt Disney himself even drew some of his inspiration for Disneyland from Mr. Knott's park. As an amusement park fan, I knew I had to visit this park the next time I was visiting Anaheim. The Knotts Berry Farm amusement park in Orange County California, actually originated from a berry farm owned by Walter Knott and his wife Cordelia (1889-1981). The park still holds so many classic attractions such as their famous Ghost Town, which was our very favorite part of the park. It was very neat to see that the Ghost Town area still looked so much like it did in the 1950s when it first opened. We actually spent hours just really discovering the whole Ghost Town area, every nook and cranny had such great details. Everyone was dressed like they belonged from this specific time frame, even in the gift shops. From the saloon, to the mine train, to the blacksmith, and more this was a fantastic way to spend a great day that is even educational with the family before heading over to the boardwalk area of the park. The new Boardwalk area has something for the whole family, with thrill rides and games, this area is also home to a Johnny Rockets where you can grab a bite to eat. If you are anything like my family, then you are always on the look out for Churros. They are our "must have" amusement park snack and boy, they do not disappoint here. Not only can you grab a plain old fashioned Churro here, but Knott's Churros also come stuffed or in a sundae! Camp Snoopy was first introduced at Knott's Berry Farm in 1983. This was the first amusement park with a section dedicated to children under 12 years old. It is a decent part of the park with a good amount of attractions for your younger children as well as meet and greets with some of your favorite Peanuts characters. Even though my children are much older, we really enjoyed walking around this area and just being kids at heart. Knott's Berry Farms has a wonderful long stretch of gift shops to walk through and spend some time in shopping. I would make sure to add some time into your day to enjoy their candy shop or grab a souvenir from their Peanuts gift shop. They also have a T.G.I. Fridays restaurant outside of the park by the gift shop area for those hungry after a long day. If you wanted to spend a few days in this area, they also have a hotel on property complete with a Snoopy themed wing! What more can you ask for really? So whether you are an amusement park history buff, a Peanuts fan, or just a family looking for a good time, you must visit Knott's Berry Farm on your next visit to the area. This park is timeless and they keep it super clean. We really had an amazing time here and made some memories that will last a lifetime! Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram  Splash, Splash!! I jumped into the water at Volcano Bay, at Universal Orlando Resort. My Tapu Tapu was turquoise. My favorite color. I saw the entrance sign and was so excited. I couldn’t believe where I was. My sister Hailey, was waiting for this. She wanted to ride the Krakatau, it’s an aqua coaster. The first ride we went on was, Honu ika Moana (Turtle & Whale.) The turtle is much calmer than the whale. The whale is the one that goes up and out. The turtle doesn’t go up an out but, it’s still fast and scary. I suggest doing the turtle than the whale. There are scales before each ride. They weigh you to see if your party can all fit in the same raft. Next, we went to, Kopiko Wai,winding river, it is the one that goes underneath the Volcano. I thought it was pretty cool. You may grab a tube or not and, you can really relax in this one. The fearless river is the one that goes fast. We’ll talk about that one later, though. When we finished with that, we checked out the wave pool at Waturi Beach. My Mom and Dad were confused because, there were no waves. As we walked over there, we saw people get off the drop slides. They said that there hands were shaking. I was thinking wow!! That’s just so amazing how they have an effect on people like that. After that we walked through the wave pool and we went into the volcano. That is where we met the spirit of the volcano. If you get chance to talk to it make sure you're loud, so it can hear you. The spirit asked us what our names were, where we were from and what our favorite rides were. Mine was the aqua coaster. My sister said the first one we went on. The spirit in the volcano said, “I don't know the first one you went on because, I wasn’t with you.” The spirit also asked us if we wanted to hear a story about the volcano and how it came to be. I answered yes. The story was very cute. It showed the Waturi people going down the drop slides and in the lazy river. The spirit splashed and, blew steam at us. We decided to head out. We walked over to the Ohno and Ohya 6ft., and 4ft. drop slides. My dad went down the 6ft. but, I didn’t think I was a strong enough swimmer. I’ve done those types of things before but, they made it sound like I was going to drown, so I decided not to. I’ll just have to live with it. I went down the steps feeling a bit, well a lot of bit sad. I guess I let my fears get the better of me...there is always next time. We headed towards the Krakatau, the aqua coaster. The moment we had all been waiting for. We got in line and then stepped on the scale. We sat four in a column. Hailey, me, Mom, and Dad. My sister was scared. She tried to get out of the boat as we were still on the ride but, I held her down. NO ESCAPING!! If you like roller coasters than you’ll LOVE an aqua coaster. It has the speed and thrills of a traditional coaster with refreshing splashes of the water. It’s over in like a minute. After that, my sister wanted to go in the kiddie area, Runamukka Reef. We got lost because, we couldn’t find the kiddie area. There is another one called, Tot Tiki Reef. All the people there are very friendly. You have to be 48 inches or smaller to play in there and slide down there slides. There are little volcanoes that erupt when they get full. The last thing we did was go in the fearless river,TeAwa The Fearless River . This was the faster one. We did this at least three times. Yes, there are big waves up to 6ft. wave surges and no tubes. Everyone wears a life jacket. There are a bunch of lifeguards there. It’s very safe. Other things to know…”things your parents might want to know.”
We had an amazing day and basically had the park to ourselves as the temperature was a bit chilly for most. I feel everyone should visit Volcano Bay, just not in freezing weather. I hope you have as much fun as we did at Volcano Bay.  By Jordan Mulhearn, Starstuff Travel's child blogger, seeing travel from the perspective of a child. Thank you to John Mulhearn of JP Mulhearn Photography for the use of his pictures. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram  Last week I was lucky enough to travel to California with my children. For the first part of our trip we visited the Anaheim area and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Anaheim Resort Area hotel. I was drawn to this specific hotel because it is the newest and closest Holiday Inn hotel to the world famous Disney Parks, their spacious rooms, and their complimentary breakfast. This hotel, just built and opened in 2016, seemed to be the perfect choice for me and my family. It is also an Official Good Neighbor Hotel so we were able to utilize the Disneyland Express (which is not complimentary, you do pay for utilizing it). Upon our arrival we were upgraded to a suite, which gave us a tremendous amount of room. It included two queen beds with a large flat screen television as well as a sitting area with a sleeper sofa and a second flat screen television, with a nice sized table and two chairs. They had a white noise machine in the room because it faced the highway which helped drowned out the noise when we tried to go to sleep. The room also came equipped with a kitchenette that had a sink, a Keurig machine, microwave, and some counter space with a few cabinets. If you were visiting with a rental car this would be a nice feature to utilize to maybe stop at a food store to possibly return to the hotel early afternoon and have lunch which would save you a few additional dollars (especially since breakfast is also complimentary)! There is a nice clean outdoor heated pool and hot tub that has some great cabana seating with a little water play area for toddlers. The area is smaller but I assume not to many of the guests staying here come back to enjoy the pool during the day. They also have a complimentary fitness center and a small area to purchase snacks and drinks. They do however charge $15 per night to park your car which is unfortunately the norm in this resort area. We walked to and from the Disneyland Parks area each day we visited. It only took us about 10 minutes and it was a nice walk. I was there with the kids by myself so I was a little nervous walking later on at night by ourselves when the parks closed, but it is a very crowded area so I never felt alone. There are also many dining options with in walking distance off of Disney property that you have access to walk to as well. While we were staying here we also visited the famous Knotts Berry Farms (Americas first theme park) and it only took us ten minutes to drive there. We also transferred to the Hollywood area after our time ended in Anaheim and it was an hours drive away. This will be my go to hotel whenever I have a client looking to visit the area who is not able to stay on property and I will choose to stay here with my very own family every time. For more information on booking your next California adventure reach out to a Starstuff Travel Planner today! Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 2/2/2018 0 Comments WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT’S ‘INCREDIBLE SUMMER’ WILL BRING NEW EXPERIENCES TO ALL FOUR PARKS This summer, beloved stories from several Disney films will come to life at Walt Disney World Resort in the form of new attractions, entertainment, experiences and more at all four parks, setting up summer 2018 to truly be an “Incredible Summer.” Here’s what you can expect at each Walt Disney World Resort location: The Incredibles Take Over Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom Park You can party with Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone from Disney•Pixar’s “The Incredibles” and the soon-to-be blockbuster “Incredibles 2.” Edna Mode, the greatest superhero costume designer, will also make her debut appearance. Each evening, you can enjoy a “SUPER” dance party on the Rocket Tower Stage. [NOTE: Disney•Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” opens in theaters June 15, 2018.] The Guardians of the Galaxy Take the Stage at Epcot StarLord, and Gamora from “The Guardians of the Galaxy” will join an alien band, taking your Clients on a journey through the cosmos. The party will feature hits from Awesome Mix Tapes 1 and 2 fun and favorite tunes from the two movies’ soundtracks building the anticipation for a new Epcot Guardians of the Galaxy attraction. “Adventurers Meet UP! A Great Bird Adventure” & A “Dino-Tastic” Celebration for Donald Duck Will Debut At Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park Two new can’t-miss offerings will debut at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in time for the park’s 20th anniversary. First, you can discover new bird species from around the world at the new show “Adventurers Meet UP! A Great Bird Adventure,” which will star Senior Wilderness Explorer Russell and his furry friend Dug. The park will also launch a “dino-tastic” celebration, in which Donald Duck takes over Dinoland, U.S.A., in a new character celebration. See “The Incredibles 2” at AMC Disney Springs Everyone’s favorite family of superheroes is back in “Incredibles 2" but this time Helen is in the spotlight, while Bob navigates the day to day heroics of “normal” life at home with Violet, Dash and baby Jack-Jack, whose superpowers are emerging. When a new villain hatches a brilliant and dangerous plot, the family and Frozone must find a way to work together again—which is easier said than done, even when they’re all Incredible. “Incredibles 2” busts into theaters on June 15, 2018. And last, but not least … Toy Story Land Opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios One major highlight of “Incredible Summer” will be the grand opening of Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This new 11-acre land will shrink guests to the size of a toy and allow them go explore the fun and adventure of Andy’s backyard. There, you can experience two new attractions: the family coaster Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers. Toy Story Land also will feature an existing guest-favorite attraction, Toy Story Mania!, which will expand to add a third track into the rotation. The land’s Woody’s Lunch Box will be a new quick-service restaurant that will offer up tasty meals and old-fashioned soda floats to Toy Story Land Guests. Keep up to date with Walt Disney News and more here on our blog! Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram |
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