WDW Quiz Challenge #1

Here is the first quiz challenge for this trip.  Name the place including park and attraction and/or food venue where this picture attached was taken.  First person to comment with the correct answer wins a $5 Starbucks gift card.  This is the first of 5 quizzes. Tomorrow will be a new one and a little more difficult.

New Quiz Contest Coming Soon

For those of you who have been a follower of my business's Facebook Page, Operation Destination Vacations, you know that every time I take a trip to "The Happiest Place on Earth," there is a daily contest to see who can guess where I am the quickest.  I post a picture during the days I am there and each picture is from a different location within the 4 theme parks.  It is a daily quiz contest and a person can win as many times as the contest is offered.  The daily winner wins a $5 Starbucks gift card.

I will be once again at Walt Disney World starting on September 21st and will run the daily contest starting on Sunday the 22nd and it will run through Friday the 27th.  The same rule applies; the person who guesses where I am based on the picture the fastest (exact location such as what attraction, show, restaurant etc) will win. You must enter your answer here on my blog in the comment section of each post.  This is different than before where the contest was held on my Facebook page.  Facebook's rules make it risky to hold any form of contest on your actual page which is why I am moving it to here on my blog.

So stay tuned and make sure you are following my blog.  I will try to post the  daily contest about the same time each day which should be around 3pm eastern time.

I look forward to seeing your answers!

WDW Question: When Are The Best Times To Visit?

Looking back over the years, the most prominent questions that I get asked related to a Walt Disney World vacation are usually centered around when are the best times to visit?  So I am not sure why it has taken me this long to write a blog article related to the subject.  Nevertheless, here are my personal thoughts when it comes to the times of year that will make for a better overall experience during your stay at the "Happiest Place on Earth."

Naturally, the best times when it comes to crowd levels, are those times when the majority of kids are in school.  That means that spring break, fall break, the Christmas break and the summer months are never optimal times for those who prefer to spend less time in a line and more time on the actual ride.  But for a lot of families, they simply have no choice but to go during school breaks or in the summer between the end of May and the beginning of August.  If summer is your only option, I recommend going earlier than later.  The weather will generally be better earlier in the summer season than later during the times when the summer overlaps with the heart of hurricane season.  So maybe look at going as soon as school lets out in the end of May or very beginning of June.

But for those that do not have to worry about school schedules or holidays, here are my top choices of times to visit:

1)  Most of September.  Most everyone is back in school now by the beginning of September.  If you can wait until after labor day, you will hit a time of year that does not coincide with any holiday weekend and the weather can be a little better as you get further into September (I stress a LITTLE).

2)  The two weeks after Thanksgiving.  Again, most families that took an extended Thanksgiving Day holiday will be back home.  The weather is generally really good (low 80's, lower humidity etc), but be aware that this can also now correspond with the beginning of the summer break for some South American countries.  So crowd levels tend to be a little higher than September.

3) The second or third week of January or the first and second week of February.  Good weather and generally decent crowd levels, at least by Disney standards, make this a great time to visit as well.  If you go in January, you are more in the peak of the southern hemisphere summer break, but Disney still views this as a low period because this tends to also be a time when they are training a lot of new employees who are trying to earn their "ears."

There ya go.  There are my top 3 times of the year that I recommend to clients to book their WDW vacation.  Again, I make my recommendations based on crowd levels as well as factoring in weather.  But overall, I will go when the crowd levels are at their lowest even if it means the weather might be a bit more iffy.

Let me know if you have any questions related to crowds and wait times.  You can also feel free to either agree or disagree with my choices. What has been the times that you have found to be the best to visit WDW?

AIl-Inclusive vs European Plan

If you have ever traveled outside the US, you most likely reserved a hotel that was either on an "EP" plan or an "AI" plan.  You may have noticed those symbols within your quote and never really paid attention to what they meant as far as your price was concerned.  If you like to peruse the internet and book vacations yourself, you may not even have realized which plan you were on until you arrived at your destination.

There are some resorts and hotels that now offer both an EP plan and also an AI plan.  EP simply stands for "European Plan" and AI simply stands for "All-Inclusive."  But if you were not aware of that, you may have booked a room at a hotel that offers both and think you got a steal compared to someone else who paid X amount of dollars more for the same room.  Little did you know that they were on an AI plan while you were on an EP plan.

All-inclusive resorts are very popular these days, especially when it comes to traveling to places like Cancun, Punta Cana, Jamaica etc. They have made traveling more affordable to a wider demographic. What are the pluses?  The biggest is the one I just mentioned...affordability.  When you look at the price for an all-inclusive, you know what the real cost of the trip is going to be upfront because most include your beverages, most of your food and your lodging and even some non-motorized water sports such as snorkeling, kayaks etc.  Some luxury all-inclusive resort chains also tout that your gratuities are included upfront, but that can be argued (and maybe I will in a future post).  So when a travel agent sends you a quote that includes flights, round trip transfers and an all-inclusive resort, you know you are seeing all of the costs minus any excursion that you may want to venture out on in whatever Country you visiting.

A lot of all-inclusive resorts know that, in order to be successful, they need to appeal to that broader demographic so they have kept their prices more affordable than some of the more high-end boutique and chain hotels.

Which really leads to the only negative when it comes to all-inclusives.  Regardless of how many stars are put next to the description of the resort, some will argue that the food quality is never as good as you will find at some other resort or hotel that only offers the European Plan when it comes to their food venues.  Some will also argue that the drinks are more watered down at an all-inclusive again implying that you are not getting the highest quality of beverage or food.  Or they argue that you will only get "local" (cheaper) liquors served when ordering your Mojito or Margarita etc.  There is a lot of validity to that argument.  Do resorts try to find ways of cutting costs so they can offer these all-inclusive plans and allow patrons to eat and eat and eat and drink and drink and drink while trying to turn a profit?  Sure!  Does that mean you are going to have awful food and terrible tasting beverages?  NO!

But you can't go into an all-inclusive resort and expect Ritz or Four Seasons level food and beverage.  If you go into an all-inclusive knowing you are going to be staying in a beautiful location, enjoying nice accommodations, really good food and drink and even enjoyable entertainment, then you will have a great experience and love the all-inclusive option.

But if you are a really serious connoisseur of food and wine and cocktails, then you should probably look at hotels that offer only the European Plan.  So to keep things simple...EP simply means that you are paying for your resort stay and any meals and beverages will be billed to you separately and NOT included in your resort room rate.  Your major hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton, Ritz Carlton etc offer EP plans when it comes to your meals and beverages.  Some chains, like Hilton as I mentioned earlier, now offer both at some Caribbean destinations where all-inclusives are the more popular option.  But as a general rule, these major chains will be EP.  Smaller boutique-style hotels tend to be EP.  You will find that some of the smaller, more upscale Caribbean destinations such as St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis etc mainly have hotels and resorts that are on the EP plan.  These resorts and destinations tend to appeal more to those where budgets are not as important as other criteria when it comes to their vacation planning process.

So I say all of this to simply educate you so you know what you are getting when you choose hotel A over hotel B and you did that solely on price.  You may not have paid attention to one being EP and not AI.  EP resorts and hotels often appear less expensive when comparing packages, but your food and beverage will add up in a hurry during your trip.  The AI option may end up being the better deal if you are one that likes drink and eat a lot while on vacation.  So look for those symbols in your quote and "know before you go."

Out of the two pictures in this post...can you tell which one is at an AI resort and which one is at an EP resort?

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"Rebooting the Family Vacation"...My Reply

Christopher Elliott is a very well-known travel writer that contributes to a variety of publications such as the USA Today and National Geographic which is where I found his latest article.  It is titled "Rebooting the Family Vacation."  You can read it by clicking HERE.  I encourage you to go read it before reading my reply to his article.  I have taken some of his views to task in the past and find myself doing the same with this most recent post of his.  But again...make sure you read it before reading what I have to say.  Are you reading it?  I can see you! Go read it!!

Ok...now that I know you have taken a moment to let it sink in, here is what I have to say in reply.  I agree with most of what he had to say.  It IS a shame that so many parents never take their kids to places that offer any form of cultural enrichment and actual downtime.  It is a shame that some parents force feed their kids the same old fast food that they get at home which is not only made in mass quantities, but also not healthy at all.  But that is not to say that vacations to amusement parks like Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando are worthless and bad overall for children.  In fact, some would argue (including me) that a vacation to Walt Disney World offers some of the best cultural experiences a child can have without needing a passport.  Epcot and Animal Kingdom offer everyone a chance to experience people from various parts of the world, including their native cuisine.  They also offer hands-on educational experiences such as Rafiki's Planet Watch and Innoventions East and West.

So I take an exception to what seemed to be a huge generalization in Chris's article when he mentioned amusement parks amongst this statement, "We’re too tired to prepare real meals for the kids, and we’re too busy to plan enriching travel experiences, so we buy what’s easy—processed junk food and off-the-shelf, highly marketed package vacations that are overly focused on amusement."

While a place like Walt Disney World is about amusement, that amusement can very well come in the form of enrichment.  And there are lots of choices where families do not have to settle for "processed junk food."  No one can force parents to look for healthier eating choices or to search out those "amusement" experiences that both entertain and enrich, which leads me to my second exception to his thoughts.

I was shocked to see that he is blaming the travel industry for this demise of the family vacation.  I fail to see where someone can lump travel agents, tour operators and even cruise lines into this problem.  Are there some travel agents who don't know have enough travel knowledge in order for them to properly offer some culturally diverse vacations to their clients?  YES!  But generally travel agents take their cue from their clients.  In other words...we listen.  We ask "where do you want to go? What types of experiences do you want on your vacation?  How many days off can you take?  What is your budget?  What are the ages of your kids and what do they like to do?"  We ask all of those questions and we listen enough to be able to offer options that suit what the client wants...not what we want.

If a client comes to us and says..."We want to take our kids to Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando," we don't reply with "have you thought about the Grand Canyon instead??  We would get that look that says, "Are you an idiot? Did you just not hear me say that we want to take our kids to Walt Disney World?"  The same look would be given if a client said, "We want to head to Cancun so we can do literally nothing and just relax on the beach" and then we reply with, "Have you thought about hiking through the mountains of Peru?"

Now again...can a client go to Cancun and experience some awesome, local Yucatan cuisine?  YES!  Can a client take their family to Cancun and experience some real cultural enrichment by visiting some of the Mayan ruins or other World Heritage sites? YES!  And most of those options are presented to clients during the planning process, but that doesn't mean they will take advantage of those options.

Travel agents, tour operators and cruise lines make all of those enrichment options available, but you can't force a vacation on a client that the client does not want.  A cruise line will take people to a variety of ports of call that will offer every passenger the chance to experience something unique to that Country, even the food.  But again, if the client simply chooses to take a "beach break" at every port, how is that the fault of the cruise line?  And if a family can only afford a 3 or 4 night cruise that only stops at ports that center around beaches and fun in the sun, who am I or who is anyone to try to force the client to take more time off or spend more money?  That leads me to my next rant about the article.

It cannot go overlooked that Chris's article failed to take budget into account.  If a client's budget is X, but the more culturally diverse vacation would cost Z or Y, a good travel agent is not going to try to up-sell their client to Z or Y.  If clients want to go to a certain place because airfare is cheaper or maybe they can drive instead and that destination also has some things they want to do on vacation, then it is not a good business practice to try to get the client to spend more money so they can consider more options that you, the travel agent, thinks is best for their overall vacation.  This is how travel agents have gotten a bad rap over the past several years.  The general public thinks it is all about the sale and not about what they really want or what they truly can afford.  It is the goal of the travel industry to provide vacation options that the families want AND can afford.  Do I wish more clients would consider a trip to some far off destination where they can all learn more about people from all over the world?  YES!  But lest we forget, we are still a Country that has gone through a major financial crisis in the not so distant past and budget-friendly travel is still a priority with most families.  These days, a family either takes the budget friendly vacation or no vacation at all.  I would rather see families go where they want and spend what THEY want vs not going at all because someone thinks their vacation is not very educational or enlightening.

And keep one more tidbit in mind before we criticize the type of vacation that the American family is taking; we should be thrilled that families are vacationing at all.  We, the good ole USA, are one of the worst industrialized Countries when it comes to the amount of vacation days that a family will typically take or be given by their employer.  So, as a travel agent, I am thrilled when I get contacted by a mom or dad that says they are ready to take some time off and take their kids to any place that is not their neighborhood pool or local Chuck E. Cheese and requires them to leave their current city limits and spend nights away from home.

So if families want to spend their vacations on the go and at a fast pace, and if they want to only eat what they know their kids WILL eat, then who are we to tell them they have to do something different?  Again...do I wish more clients took some of the more culturally diverse suggestions?  Sure.  Do I wish more clients would branch out and try some different food options that reflect more of what the actual locals eat?  Absolutely.  But families make choices that are best for their families and I can't judge a family because they choose a certain vacation over another.   I am all for vacations that offer a bit of everything and I am very much for vacations that truly offer some much needed R&R, but I cannot see how someone can point fingers at someone else and blame them for what some other family chooses to do.  There are too many factors that go into vacation planning and I simply feel Chris's article did not take those factors into consideration.

So there is my reply.  What are your thoughts about the article or even about my reply?  Agree with Chris?  Agree with me?  Disagree with both of us?

A Vacationer's Dream

Ok, you have decided to take a vacation so you sit down and create your to-do list.  Hopefully it looks something like this:

1. Discuss possible destinations--check
2. Set a budget for the trip--check
3. Pick possible dates for the trip--check
4. Call a travel agent to help plan the details--check
5. Officially book the trip with the help of the agent---check

Now the excitement begins.  You find great apps or other ways to countdown the days until you leave. Time has flown and the time is getting close enough to start packing the bags and then...BLAM, a new form of stress hits.  Who is going to watch the dog?  Who is going to pick up the mail?  Do I have all of my prescriptions?  What about the groceries in the fridge?  The to-do's start to mount up again and they can zap some of the fun away from the vacation itself.

So what if I told you that there are services out there that can even take away those stress factors and give your brain more time to focus on the really fun aspects of your trip?  Wouldn't it be a dream to have someone you could call and they would literally take care of all of those tasks that you can't ignore, but would prefer never to have to worry about?  Imagine not having to worry about anything related to your trip other then things like, "did we load the bags in the car" or "do we have all of our travel documents?"  You know...those things that are actually a part of the trip.

So enough of the lead-in teaser stuff.  Let me introduce you to one such company.  The name of her company is Julie Hullett Concierge LLC and naturally Julie Hullett is the owner.  This is a sample of what she can do for you while you pack your bags (and I even have someone who can offer advice on what to pack, but that is for another post); Julie can take your pet to the boarding kennel, pick up your dry cleaning that you need for the trip, pick up any necessary medications from the pharmacy, and anything else that you might need or need to do before you leave home.

Then picture that the trip is coming to an end and you are about to head home.  Your brain starts to get out of vacation mode and into "what do I need to do when I get home" mode.  Now picture Julie going to get your pet and having him or her there waiting for you when you walk in the door.  Imagine the heat or the AC being at the right temp, your fridge being full with those staples that you knew you would need but hated to buy right before you left home, your mail laid out and organized on your dining table and so on and so on.  Are you getting the stress-free picture?  This is why I call her and her services a "vacationer's dream."  Life would not skip a beat while you were gone.  The transition from before the vacation starts to being on vacation to returning back home from vacation would be so smooth and stress free that you would never plan a vacation the same again.  You would forever be hooked and your concierge's phone number would be a "favorite" in your contacts list.

So the next time you plan a vacation, add one more planning item to your list besides calling a wonderful, all-knowing travel consultant like myself (was that a little much?)...make sure you make an appointment with a concierge service like Julie's.  And if you are in the Nashville area...call Julie.  She is awesome to work with.

Have you ever heard of a service like this?  Have you ever used a service like this?  I would love to get your feedback.