The Beach Club Villas 2009 marked my parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary, and to celebrate, they decided to arrange a family reunion at Walt Disney World. This meant both their kids, their spouses, and their children. It would be my parents’ grandchildren’s first trip to Walt Disney World! Gingerbread decorations in the lobby of the Beach…
Author: Kristina Valcarce
My first Walt Disney World vacation was in 1976, and my first Disneyland experience was in 1995, when I moved to Los Angeles. I am a bi-coastal Disney nerd and proud of it!
Four Things Walt Disney World Does Better Than Disneyland
Both are wonderful, but in these four cases, Walt Disney World does a better job You all know how much I love both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. When friends ask me which is my favorite, I tell them that this question is impossible to answer. Both of these places are happy, magical, and wonderful…
Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World – 1999
Our first stay at a Moderate Resort In 1999, I had a very different Walt Disney World vacation than I had been used to. I was married, and my sister was dating the man who would become her husband. I was living in Los Angeles and had discovered the joys of Disneyland. My sister lived…
Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World – 1993
Our first Walt Disney World trip together It was May 1993. I had just graduated college, and what did I ask my parents for? A trip to Walt Disney World! My then-boyfriend now-husband and I had already been camping together, so we thought it would be fun to camp out at Fort Wilderness. My sister…
The Best Rides for Toddlers – Disneyland Edition
The Storybook Land Canal Boats, with Casey, Jr. in the background I made so many happy memories at Disneyland. Among the happiest are those I made with my daughter before she was old enough to go to school. When she was a toddler, she loved the shows, parades and meeting the characters. But there were…
Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World 1991
A welcome sight for Star Wars fans! The year was 1991, and my parents had decided that it was time for our family to take the biggest, most extravagant Walt Disney World vacation that we ever had. Back then, there was a package known as the Grand Plan. This included all tickets, a concierge room…
Throwback Thursday – Walt Disney World: 1989
1989 marked a banner year for my family’s trips to Walt Disney World. My mother was now working a full time job, and my parents decided that it was time to return to Walt Disney World in style. After more than a decade of staying off property, they decided we would stay at the Polynesian….
Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World – 1986
Cinderella Castle, just as lovely in 1986 as it is now Ten years after our very first Walt Disney World trip, my parents took my sister and I back to the Most Magical Place on Earth. The four of us flew to Orlando from Long Island MacArthur Airport, in Islip, New York. We flew flight…
Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World – 1984
My Mom, my sister and me on our first ever Epcot visit My family fell in love with Walt Disney World in the 1970’s, so it was no surprise that we were all eager to visit when Epcot opened. We spent four nights at an inexpensive hotel on International Drive. It was mid-January, and as…
Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World – 1980
The author with her Dad and little sister I know that my family took me to Walt Disney World in 1976, but I have so few memories of that trip, because I was so young. The first trip I can really remember is the one we took in 1980. The author and her sister in…
The Mickey Mummy Macaron at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe
When you look at your dessert and it looks back… My daughter chose to celebrate her 13th birthday at Mickey’s Halloween Party in Disneyland Park. We let her pick a special birthday dessert. First, we ducked into the Red Rose Inn to look for something sweet. However, she didn’t find anything that appealed to her…
Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland
When my husband and I asked our daughter how she wanted to celebrate her birthday this year, she said she wanted to go to Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland. This is a hard ticketed event held on certain nights in September and October, held on evenings when Disneyland Park closes to the general public early….