Prior to taking my kids to Disney World this past year, I hadn’t been in over 20 years. While I will admit that I wasn’t the one in charge for that mid-nineties vacation, I don’t remember the enormous lines, unending food choices, different ticket possibilities, and infinite number of options for accommodation. What is a Fast Pass? Is the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique really worth it? I am sure all of the madness was there in 1995, but was it there to that degree?
It is safe to say that when I decided to start planning a trip this past year for my parents, husband, and three tiny children, I was quickly overwhelmed.
I knew how to buy our tickets — but that was about it. When it comes to Disney, the great thing about being active duty in the military is the amazing deal on tickets we get through the Information, Tickets, and Travel (ITT) office. And before you ask, no, we are not stationed anywhere close to Disney World. All ITT offices have this service. There are some restrictions, and you do have to plan in advance so that the tickets can be ordered, but it will save you huge amounts of money.
So that took care of the tickets, but what about everything else that is Disney?
The Internet, while it is extremely helpful in many ways, had a paralyzing number of choices. Aside from basic Disney websites, there are reviews on TripAdviser, hotel websites, chat rooms dedicated exclusively for Disney travel, and more. Everyone has an opinion, and it is hard to decipher which opinions are popular and which will work for your family.
As I saw it, I had a couple of choices. The first was to do nothing other than randomly pick a hotel, arrive in Orlando, and hope for the best. The second was to spend all of my free time researching our trip.
I don’t know about you, but I have small children, a job, a house to manage, and a few things I like to do for myself; there isn’t a lot of extra time to fret over planning the perfect family vacation.
The last choice was to use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. Enter Christine Gardner and Off to Neverland Travel®.
After speaking with Christine and telling her about my family and our desired vacation experience, she worked her magic to make all of our vacation expectations come true. Christine specializes in sending military families to Disney World. She understands the unique stresses that military families face and works tirelessly to make sure that she is able to obtain the best discounts available for those families.
I am not a person who likes every minute of our vacation planned, and Christine understood that completely. We had the perfect mix of structured activity and downtime. She helped me understand my choices when it came to things like lodging and meal plans. How am I to know how much food we will eat? Turns out, not as much as I would have thought. Apparently, Disney attractions beat out hunger for small children. Who knew! Christine helped plan out a general game plan for the day, so we knew how to make the most out of our time at Disney while making the most of the money we had budgeted for our trip.
The best part of the entire experience with Christine and Off to Neverland Travel® was that even I, the MOTHER, was able to fully enjoy the vacation.
How many family vacations have I been on where I felt like I was doing more work than I was at home? ALL OF THEM. Except this trip. For this vacation, all of the planning and daily details were taken care of, so all I had to do was sit back, relax, and actually enjoy time with my family. This trip truly exceeded my expectations.
Off to Neverland Travel is a full service, white glove agency that will take care of everything from beginning to end and beyond. While we went to Disney World in Orlando for our trip, Off to Neverland Travel® can plan your trip to any Disney Destination including Walt Disney World®; Disneyland Resort®; Disney Cruise Line; Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa; and also Adventures by Disney. The company also works with all major cruise lines as well as all-inclusive resorts like Sandals and Beaches.
Not to be cliche or sound like a Disney robot, but Christine truly helped make our trip to Disney World magical. We will use her again because of her dedication to helping military families.
Along with tickets from ITT, she is the perfect solution for that military family who desperately needs that homecoming celebration or the pre-deployment trip for family time together.
This is awesome! I had no idea there were options like this for military families! I will definitely be taking advatange of this asap!
I meant to mention we would love to go to one of the resorts in Orlando!
Hi Jordan! I’d love to help you plan your trip! Feel free to email me at [email protected] and I’ll take care of all of the details!
Comments are closed.