Reasons to book with Magical Vistas, even if you've been to Disney before

You’ve been to the parks several times.  You’ve been on a cruise a few years ago.  Why do you need Magical Vistas to help you plan your next Disney trip?  Here are our top reasons!

1. You can be as involved in the planning as you’d like to be! If you’re like me, you enjoy researching and planning family trips. Looking into activities and experiences is fun. Why would you want to give that up? The answer is, you don’t have to! However, in planning almost every trip at some point, it becomes a bit overwhelming. What’s a good restaurant near this activity? How long is this activity going to take? What’s the best way to travel to this location? The list goes on and on. Having someone who can provide an answer or an opinion, especially when they’re extremely knowledgeable about the place (all things Disney for us), is incredibly helpful. If all you want to know is what’s new in the parks since your last trip, we can tell you! If you just want a list of our favorite (and least favorite) spots to dine, we got you. Whether you want minimal assistance or tons of recommendations, we can help either way!

2. Someone to answer all questions. People often tell us that they start planning on their own and then get lost in Google searches, YouTube videos, or find conflicting information. Sometimes the information is outdated. Some people call Disney only to find wait times are much longer than they care to spend on the phone. We’re in the parks multiple times each year, follow Disney news and blogs, and book for families often. We’re confident we can answer your questions and if we need to contact Disney, let us spend the time on the phone instead of you!

3. We make group travel easier. Disney is a family destination and therefore, many families often travel together. We’re happy to be the middle man. We can request rooms that are close together, make sure everyones’ travel dates and park tickets align, make recommendations based on the party size, etc.

4. Up-to-date travel information. Things at Disney, especially since the pandemic began, seem to be evolving and ever changing. We are happy to provide information about what’s different since you last traveled, any closures you need to be aware of, and new offerings

5. Advice to maximize your trip and make the best of your time. Trying to decide when to go? Trying to decide how many days? Trying to decide between a cruise or time in the parks? Let us help. We have lots of strategies to make sure you ride the best rides for your family, navigate the park efficiently, and use Disney technology to your advantage

We’re confident we can help you in whatever capacity you may need to make planning your vacation easier. We’re also flexible when it comes to communication. Whether e-mail, text, video call or phone call is easiest, we are more than willing to communicate in the way that best fits your lifestyle. We know you’re thinking about that next Disney vacation, so, contact us! The sooner, the better!

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Disney Cruise Review - Disney Wonder - Alaska

Each trip we take, I write down a few notes at the end of the day in a journal.  The word I saw over and over again after our trip on the Disney Wonder was FANTASTIC.  Whether I was referring to the food, the entertainment, the crew, the staterooms, or the ports of call, I used this word over and over again.  Hopefully I will not be as redundant in this post but fantastic was how I felt about each day!

We took a 7 night cruise that left from Vancouver, spent two days at sea, spent one day viewing the glacier at Endicott Arm, and spent three days in the cities of Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.

I think I'll hit on food first because it was fabulous.  Disney Cruise Line offers "rotational dining," which means you rotate through three different dining rooms each night while on board.  Each dining room is themed differently.  Our dining rooms aboard the Wonder were Triton's, Tianna's Place, and Animator's Palate.  Triton's was also open for breakfast and lunch each day.  We did a lot of meals at Triton's because we enjoyed a sit down meal over going to the buffet at Cabanas.  

There were also options on the pool deck each afternoon which offered pizza, salad, sandwiches, soft-serve ice cream, fruit, chicken nuggets, fries, etc.  We found this was a great option after excursions, if all other dining options were closed.  It was a little chilly as it was outside but on a different cruise, the experience would be totally different!

Our final night we dined at PALO, the fine dining restaurant on the Disney Wonder.  PALO was FANTASTIC.  Advanced reservations are needed and it costs a little more but it was well worth it!  The views we had from the restaurant were also exquisite!  Dinner began with fresh bread and a charcuterie plate.  Among the four at our table, we had calamari, caprese salad, gnocchi, lobster pasta and halibut.  The dessert menu was also wonderful.  The chocolate souffle was my favorite dessert!          

entree at palo

Palo dining room

Dessert at animator's palate

There are a number of "adult only" areas on board if you're traveling without kids or if you just want some time away from the little ones for while.  Each night after dinner, we enjoyed shows at Azure, which is adult only after a certain time each day.  There was also an adult only bar and lounge in the same area of the ship.  On the pool deck, there is an adult only Cafe, lounge area, and pool. 

If you want to experience an adult only area, there are youth clubs for kids ages 3-12 where you can drop off your kids so they can have tons of fun in the themed areas and be supervised by the Disney Crew members.  There is also a nursery for those younger than three.  

The spa, Senses, is also a great "get away."  We purchased the cruise long pass to the rainforest room in the spa.  With that we were able to use the sauna, two steam rooms, hot stone loungers, and aroma therapy showers.  Because we were on a slightly chilly, Alaskan cruise, the hot stone loungers were my jam.  After spending some time outside, they were the perfect way to warm up and relax.  I would take my book, a journal and relax!   

Our Stateroom

Speaking of relaxing, our room was also a great place to unwind.  While we only had two people in our stateroom, we were more than satisfied with the space.  We had a queen size bed, lots of drawers, a fairly big closet, room under the bed, a couch, a desk and a split bathroom layout.  Many of Disney's staterooms have a split bathroom, which has a shower and sink in one small room as well as a toilet and a sink in another small room.  This feature is great for families, especially when many people are trying to get ready in a small space together.  We had a port hole, which we were very happy with.  A balcony would have been nice, but we could not justify the extra expense when we did not think we would be able to sit on the balcony for long periods of time due to the chilly weather.  Just having the port hole (and it was a pretty nice size!), allowed us to see a lot of beautiful country side while in our room. 

Last but not least, the crew was amazing.  Everyone was extremely nice and accommodating.  Even now more than a month after our cruise, our family continues to talk about Andre, Putu, and Luis our main server, assistant server and stateroom attendant (respectively).  They learned our names throughout the week as well as our preferences.  The people aboard the ship worked very hard to make it an incredible experience for us all.    

Excursions: Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and Adventure Karts in Ketchikan

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog!  We look forward to using our blog so that you can get to know us at Magical Vistas better, and so that we can share some of our Disney favorites with you. 

We are Greg and Chelsey.  Traveling to Disney resorts is one of our favorite things to do on vacation.   Together we have been to Walt Disney World Resort 9 times and Disneyland 2 times.  On our honeymoon we visited Aulani in Hawaii.  We have also traveled internationally to Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Resort.    

As a child Greg grew up going to Walt Disney World yearly. He loved riding Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Those rides are still a must when he visits Walt Disney World.

Chelsey only went to Walt Disney World once as a child but has great memories from the trip. Riding The Tower of Terror, swimming in the resort pool and riding bikes around the resort stand out as favorite memories.

Check back often!

We look forward to sharing our favorite experiences, food, resorts, holiday fun and so much more!