Which type of road trip does your family take?

Liz Hough on

When my husband had the opportunity again to speak at a conference in Charleston, South Carolina we instantly decided to turn it into a family vacation.  We had taken the family two years ago when he had the opportunity to speak and we had so much fun.  Deciding to go again was an easy decision.  The tough part was getting there.  Flying to Charleston from Pittsburgh is easy as they now have direct, non-stop flights, but we decided to take an adventure.  A road-trip adventure. 

What comes with a road-trip?  There are two ways to do a road trip.  The first I like to call the “Just Go” road-trip which doesn’t involve much planning at all.  If you don’t like to plan, then this may be the option for you.  The “Just Go” road-trip involves leaving very early in the morning, way before the kids are even awake.  You can leave at 1am or 4am, just anytime before the kids would wake up for the day.  The night before you simply put the kids into their clothes they are going to wear the next day and let them sleep in them for the night.  When it comes time to leave, you move them from their beds into the car and “Just Go!” 

With the “Just Go” road-trip you can plan to stop along the way or you can drive straight through depending on how long it will take you to get to your destination.  Driving straight through is the goal, but as with many kids, the constant asking “are we there yet” can be a big reason to add in a stop or two along the way.  My recommendation for kids six years of age and under is to try to stop every four hours when they are awake.  Four-hours is a good amount of time that allows you to cover a large distance.  This amount of time also helps get the kids out of the car to expend some of that built up energy. 

The other type of road trip I like to call the “Scenic” road trip.  With the “Scenic” road trip you build in more places to stop and see various sites along the way.  This type of road trip takes a lot more advanced planning.  The planning that is involved includes mapping out places to visit along the way with shorter breaks in between, usually 2 to 3 hours in the car before a stop.  Each stop is something fun for the kids to do like a zoo, museum, battlefield, caverns, a farm, an Amish market, or the world’s biggest ball of yarn. 

Picture: Pixabay

The “Scenic” road trip also involves sleeping at various motels and hotels along the way until you get to your final destination.  Depending on the areas you will be stopping, you want to make sure the accommodations receive good reviews from other families who have stayed there.  You don’t necessarily have to stay in the same area as one of your stops.  If you plan to be in that area late, then it is a good idea to stay there.  If you decide that you want your road trip to be a “Scenic” road trip, you can easily map it out on Google Maps and find local hotels and sights.  You can also contact a travel agent to help you come up with a plan. 

You can also do a combination of “Just Go” and “Scenic” road trips.  There really is no right or wrong when planning a road trip as long as you are planning it to fit your family’s needs.  Just remember, Life is Better Traveling!

Stay tuned next month for more on my road trip adventure to Charleston and my family’s adventure.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

Is Hawaii safe to visit?

Liz Hough on

Are you thinking of taking a Hawaiian vacation but aren’t sure if the recent volcano eruption will make for a bad vacation?  Are you concerned all the Hawaiian Islands are affected?  At Life is Better Traveling, we are here to help you get a better understanding of what is going on in Hawaii so you can make an informed decision to book that vacation. 

 

If you haven’t been following the eruption going on the past few weeks, the beautiful volcano of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii is very active right now.  This volcano is the most active of the five volcanoes that make up the Islands of Hawaii.  It is located on the southern part of the Island of Hawaii, and this Island is the most southern of all the Islands.  But how does this effect the other popular vacation Islands like Maui and Oahu?

 

Picture by: Pixabay

With increasing concerns from travelers and people who are looking to book their upcoming vacation to Hawaii, Governor David Ige and State Department of Health Director Dr. Virginia Pressler have officially released a statement to answer questions to your concerns. 

 

Dr. Pressler commented, “The air quality for the vast majority of the Hawaiian Islands is clean and healthy. The emissions from Kilauea volcano are a non-factor for Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kauai. The weather is beautiful and warm with cooling trade winds everywhere in Hawaii and is exactly what travelers expect when coming here for a relaxing and fun vacation experience. This includes Hilo, Pahoa and the Kona and Kohala coasts on the Island of Hawaii.

 

 

Picture by: Pixabay

“The areas where precautions are required for people are in lower Puna where lava is flowing and downwind from there on the Island of Hawaii, particularly if they have respiratory problems. Because of heavy emissions of vog, as well as occasional bursts of ash plumes from the Kilauea summit, the southeast portions of the Island are also routinely experiencing concerning conditions. Those visiting areas south of Hilo should stay alert for air quality updates, especially when wind conditions change. Fortunately, when trade winds are blowing, the vog and ash routinely move in a southwesterly direction and out to sea away from the Hawaiian Islands.”

 

Governor Ige stated, “Hawaii’s air quality is being closely monitored on a continuing basis by scientists, meteorologists and the Hawaii State Department of Health. This team of experts says the air quality in the Hawaiian Islands is safe for residents and visitors, except in the affected areas.

Two other topics that I want to alleviate people’s concerns about are laze and the Puna Geothermal Venture plant. Laze is a natural reaction that occurs whenever lava flows into the ocean as it is doing now and has from time to time over the past 35 years. This is all part of nature’s way of creating new land for life to grow. Laze is limited to the area where the lava meets the ocean and is not a danger to people who keep a safe distance away.

 

“At the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, the state is actively directing protective actions to reduce the risk from lava flows moving nearby. The underground wells have been sealed and secured minimizing the threat to the safety of people and communities.

“The bottom line is that there is no reason for travelers to avoid making their vacation plans in the Hawaiian Islands due to safety concerns because of Kilauea volcano.

Visitors will be welcomed with open arms and treated to the hospitality, aloha, warmth and natural beauty that is found everywhere in Hawaii. The only area to avoid is lower Puna where the eruption is ongoing.”

 

 

Picture by: Pixabay

For the latest update on air quality in the Hawaiian Islands, please reference the State of Hawaii Interagency Vog Information Dashboard: http://www.ivhhn.org/vog/

 

If you are thinking of booking your next vacation to Hawaii make sure to contact one of our Hawaiian Destination Specialists, Mary Yohannan or Sonja Hester.  We are here to book all components including hotel, air, transfers, inter-Island flights, excursions, and travel protection.  Don’t book it all alone, have an expert make sure you will have the most amazing time in Hawaii. 

 

 

Remember, a Life is Better Traveling Travel Agent is here to help make your next vacation amazing!

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

What a GEM on the Adriatic Sea…

Liz Hough on

This Old Town in port has Old World charm with one of, if not the oldest pharmacy’s in the world.  This city has been a maritime city for centuries and due to its easy access to the sea, became one of the wealthiest port cities in Europe.  Over the vast years Dubrovnik has seen its fair share of destruction but you wouldn’t even know from the city’s beauty and charm.

 

When we awoke in the morning the ship was still coming into port and we were able to get some beautiful and very scenic photos of Croatia’s coastline.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect of Croatia.  The stories that I heard were the days when it was part of Yugoslavia, which was not always a good time.

 But the beautiful coastline melted away any apprehensions I had about visiting this country.  The ship we were on was too big to dock at the port so we had to be tendered into the port by life boats.  It was good to know that they worked.

 

 

 

Once we got off our tender we entered through the gates into Old Town.  Now a word of warning: we were offered bathrooms right before going through the gates.  These bathrooms were more traditional for the area, nothing more than holes in the ground with stainless steel foot-grips.  Not a wonderful experience.  Once we got into Old Town, modern facilities were available.  So I recommend holding it if you can!  Now back to walking through the gates, I felt like I had gone back in time.  The light colored stone buildings one on top of the other lining the cobblestone streets was like something out of an Audrey Hepburn movie.  This is not what I expected at all.  It was beautiful and it looked so well preserved!  We were there so early in the morning that nobody was on the streets yet except the local cats.  Yes, I am a cat person so there will be pictures of cats in my blogs.

 

 

Since not much was open yet, we were told to walk around for about 30 minutes and then our tour would start.  This is the point where I start walking around as fast as I can while taking in the sites.  You never know where these tours are going to take you so I always sneak off to get into some stores or get some unique pictures of the architecture.  There were so many narrow alleyways with steep staircases to get to the top.  Each alleyway had an array of shops, restaurants, eateries, and apartments.  Again, nothing was open so I couldn’t get any good shopping in yet.

 

The tour started in front of Onuphrius‘ Fountain.  This is a beautiful large stone fountain that people congregate around through out the day to get pictures, relax, or fill up their water bottles.  Which I personally would never do in a foreign country.  We headed into the Franciscan Monastery which is one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe.  When you walk in you can see the set up of the pharmacy and they still have some of the tools on display.  We also walked the inside court yard area of the monastery, which is beautiful.  The blooming flowers and well manicured garden just made for a picture perfect morning.  There really isn’t much else that we ventured into here, but we did enjoy reading some of the burial markings of old monks.  We then made our way back out to the fountain and down Stradun.  This is the main street.  There are a lot of great little stores that have anything from jewelry to knick-knacks.  There was also a fresh produce market going on in the square.  There were fresh figs threaded through some yarn that looked like a necklace.  They were the biggest figs I have ever seen.  There are many days that I kick myself for not trying them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was now time to leave the city center and start our bus tour.  We did a lot of driving around and the scenery seemed very bare.  It almost was desert-like to me but this changed when we came upon our restaurant.  The restaurant was far from the port but lush with trees and a small stream going through the center of the property.  The ambiance of the restaurant was beautiful and the food was really good too, typical lamb and potatoes but it hit the spot.

 

After leaving the restaurant we headed back to the coast but further south.  We hit a nice resort area where apparently a lot of celebrities like to go for peace and relaxation.  There were a lot of boats on the water but we didn’t see a lot of people swimming.  The water was really choppy that day but it was this beautiful deep blue color that I have never seen before in my life.  We took the mile walk around the lagoon and noticed that there were several beaches.  Well, not exactly what we would call a beach.  Their version of a beach at this lagoon was large rocks.  Apparently you just jump off of them to get into the water.  Some of the rocks had ladders attached to them so you could get back out.  I think I will stick with the sand.

 

I call Dubrovnik a hidden gem because its’ beauty and charm were something I really didn’t expect.  Places like this, the ones that truly surprise you, are the ones that remind you how much Life is Better Traveling.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

Kids Cleveland… so many activities

Liz Hough on

A few weeks before school started our family decided to take a day trips outside of Pittsburgh. We thought it would be a fun way to end the summer and I was excited to go somewhere new.  We had heard amazing things about Cleveland, Ohio.  After looking up a few places to take the kids, we packed the bags and the car, and were on the road early one Saturday morning.

As a family who frequently drives on the Pennsylvania turnpike and stops at their service plazas, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the Ohio turnpike service plazas.  They were fairly new, clean, spacious, and had a Panera.  I am always up for Panera Hazelnut coffee and a scone!  In addition, there was plenty of space for the kids to run around to get their legs moving.

We decided that our first stop in Cleveland would be the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and we wanted to take advantage of the weather.  As we are members of the Pittsburgh Zoo, we always ask a zoo if they reciprocate their membership. Unfortunately, they said they recently stopped reciprocating with the Pittsburgh Zoo.  Noteworthy, as a result of being a member of the  Pittsburgh Zoo, some zoos do reciprocate giving you free or up to 50% off admission .  The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has various activities you can pay extra to do.  We really just wanted to see the zoo and not do all the other things, so we paid for the basic entrance fee.  This gets you into the zoo and the rainforest dome.

We expected to be at the zoo for 2 to 3 hours, because it typically takes us that long to go through a zoo.  We were there for 5 hours! The zoo is spread out over several acres of land, and some areas you will have a nice walk to get to them.  Our family’s personal favorite section was the tree house with the snake slide.  Be careful though, you do come down quite fast and wearing shorts can give you a nice brush burn.  Also, there is a really cool surprise at the bottom of the slide!

snake slide cleveland zoo

One thing that was really a nice touch was the design of the facilities.  A lot was taken into consideration to make you feel like you were in that part of the world.  Each enclosure was conducive to the natural habitat of that respective animal.  The rainforest is at the entrance of the zoo, so we decided to do this after the zoo.  We really enjoyed the rainforest and the animals inside.  However due to a long day in the sun, the hot environment was too much for our family.  Most note worthy about this zoo, there is a lot of walking involved so if you have little ones I highly recommend bringing a stroller.

elephants
wolve encloser

Our day trip was spent mostly at the zoo, as a result we didn’t get to do other activities.  Our hopes of getting to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium which was built in a historic powerhouse on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River, did happen.  Next day trip to Cleveland!  Other activities that you can do with the kids in Cleveland include Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Children’s Museum of Cleveland, and The Christmas Story House and Museum.

We had an amazing day trip even though we left early in the morning to get there at a reasonable time.  We could have done more museums, but we really did enjoy the zoo.  I can’t wait to go back, and this time we may even stay for an entire weekend.  Remember, Life is Better Traveling.

Tell us what your favorite Cleveland Kid’s Activities are, or where in Cleveland you like to take your family…

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

 

 

 

 

 

Inside tour of Buckingham Palace

Liz Hough on

The best time to visit Buckingham Palace is in the summer months…

 

A visit to London wouldn’t be complete without a visit to one of England’s most famous landmarks, Buckingham Palace.   This royal palace has served as the official London residence and administrative office of the British royal family since the 19th century. However, access to the public is limited and exclusive but worthwhile for those who arrange a visit.

 

 

 

Year round you can always view the palace’s opulent exterior through the gates.  The best time to visit Buckingham Palace is during the legendary Changing of the Guard ceremony when the royal guards change shifts. This tradition that dates back from 1689, and eventually moved to Buckingham Palace in 1837 when Queen Victoria started to use the palace.  The best time to see this 45-minute ceremony would be on a Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, or Friday at 11:00 am but can be canceled in bad weather.  

 

If you are visiting London in the summer months, you can get a peek into some select state rooms.  See the Throne Room, stroll through the palace gardens, and admire masterpieces by artists such as Rembrandt and Canaletto in Queen Victoria’s Picture Gallery.  The palace interior is only open to the public during summer, from late July until the end of September, with tours running daily from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm (until 6:30 pm in September). You’ll want to book this coveted experience in advance with our travel agency.

 

 

 

Things to Know Before You Go from Viator.com

 

  • The palace is a must for history buffs and royal enthusiasts.
  • Pair a stop at Buckingham Palace with the Changing of the Guard ceremony and afternoon tea for a quintessential London experience.
  • Tours of the palace interior are only available in summer from late June to late September, while the queen is on holiday in Scotland.
  • If the Royal Standard flag is flying atop the palace, it means the queen is in residence; otherwise, the Union Jack flag is flown.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

Is the Disney Dining Plan worth it?

Liz Hough on

Disney Dining Plan, Is It Worth It?

 

Disney easily comes up in conversations with random people I meet, but when they find out I am a travel consultant they always ask me if the Disney Dining Plan is worth the money.  I have read so many different opinions on various Disney blogs, Facebook pages, and travel agent outlets about people’s views on this subject matter.  It seems like people are split, some love it and some say it is a waste of money.  Well, several family trips with the dining plan and hundreds of clients who have been on the dining plan, the verdict is in, and we all think YES! 

 

For my family we choose the Disney Dining Plan which includes 1 quick service, 1 table service, and 2 snacks per person per night of stay and 1 resort refillable mug.  The refillable mug can only be used at your resort but a nice tip is to take it with you to the parks to hold your Free ice water.  With each table service meal, we were able to choose one entrée from the menu, one dessert, and one non-alcoholic beverage.  When you choose an entrée you are not limited to a select menu specifically for those on the dining plan.  You receive the same menu that everyone receives and get to choose any of the entrées including steak or salmon.  Dessert at Disney is fantastic!  It is gourmet and no matter what you choose it will not disappoint.  However, having dessert every day could be a lot for some people, as it was for me.  There is a little known fact that isn’t shared by the wait staff, but some restaurants now allow you to substitute your dessert for an appetizer.  You have to ask your server when you sit down if this is one of the participating restaurants and which appetizers are included, but you may have an option of a salad instead of the that rich chocolate cake.

Quick service meals are just like the combo meals that you get at any of your local fast food places, and snacks include a variety of foods including popcorn, cookies, cupcakes, fried rice, Mickey soft pretzels, a banana, or the famous Mickey Mouse ice cream bar. 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the Disney dining plan was the perfect amount of meals and snacks for my family, but some families have teens or growing, hungry children who eat a lot more or need more snacks, so purchasing another plan to fit their family’s needs would be a better option.  On the other hand, if you have members of your party who do not eat a lot of food, not including small children, any dining plan might be too much food for you and your family.  We always advise our clients to know what is best for you and your family, so we can make sure to fit your needs. 

 

So are you ready to find out if the dining plan is worth the money?  For a family of four ( 2 adults and 2 children under age 9) going to Disney for seven nights, who elect the Disney Dining plan, it is a little over $1100.  Now that is just for the Dining plan, not including park tickets or resort stay.  For four people on this seven-day Disney vacation, it comes to around $40 per person per day.   One character meal is around this same cost, if not more, so if you do one character meal you have paid for your entire day right there! 

Even if you are doing non-character meals, your meal cost with entrée, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage can easily reach the $40 to $50 range per person.  When you look at the numbers you really see that you are paying for table service but getting a quick service meal and two snacks for free.  I, personally, find that the dining plan is worth the money and saves me time when we are there.  My meals are planned out, they are paid for, and everyone is happy because the food is so good. 

 

Now, one thing you must know is that tip/gratuity is not included.  The suggested tip is based on your total meal cost prior to deducting your plan.  It is up to you, how much you want to tip unless you are a party of six or more than 18% is automatically added to your bill.  Also on your bill will be the total remaining allotment of your meals.  If you had six table services to start and just finished eating, then your bill will show that you have five remaining.  You can always get your entire amount of allotted meals from the concierge or guest services at your hotel.  It is important to note that meals do not roll over after your stay.  If you don’t use them up you will lose them so I highly recommend planning out your meals for each day you are at Disney.  Also, the meals are to be used at your discretion.  If you want two table service meals on one day and two quick service meals another day, it is up to you how you use them, but again, use them up!

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

You MUST go here!

Liz Hough on

I fell in LOVE with the Parks at Universal Studios Florida! 

 

A few weeks ago I talked about my resort experience at the Loew’s Royal Pacific Hotel on Universal Orlando™ property.  This week I want to talk about the changes I saw at the parks since having been there last in 1994. 

One thing I like to do when I travel to a place that I haven’t been in a really long time is to imagine that I have never been there.  Why do I do this?  Easy, then I won’t be disappointed.  If I really liked a place, and it changed into something hugely commercial, tacky, with poor customer service, then I tend to be disappointed.  Now 23 years ago there was no Islands of Adventure™ and Universal Studios Florida™ could be done in only 6 hours.  Not on this trip!  It took us a good 2 days to get through everything, but we also had a secret in our pockets, Unlimited Express Passes!

 

When you stay at the Loew’s Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, or Portofino Bay Resort you will automatically receive complimentary Unlimited Express Passes.  This pass allows you to go to the front of the line on select rides an unlimited amount of times during your visit.  (Shhh, don’t tell anyone I am comparing this but for Disney people this is like having FastPasses for almost every ride!)  If you aren’t staying at one of those resorts, but are at one of the other resorts you can pay an additional fee for this Unlimited Express Pass or the Express Pass, which allows you to skip the line once per ride.  I prefer the Unlimited Express Pass because you are able to go to the front of the line an unlimited number of times for your favorite rides.

 

 

Having the extra passes was very helpful on our first day in Islands of Adventure™.  When I first walked through the gates, which had no lines because security is handled way before you get to the gates, I was amazed by the façade.  For me it felt like I was at the North Pole and Moroccan trading marketing at the same time, which gave me a very warm happy feeling.  Being on property resort guests, we were able to enter Islands of Adventure™ at 8am but we were directed to Harry Potter® world of Hogsmeade.  If you are a Harry Potter® fan, walking into Hogsmeade is like the very first time you sat down to watch the first Harry Potter® movie, AMAZING!  I felt like I was actually in the world of Harry Potter® .  Now Harry Potter® world is split over both parks and if you want to ride Hogwarts Express you must have the park to park ticket, and as much as I loved riding the train, it was not my favorite part of the Harry Potter® worlds.  My favorite part was in Universal Studios Florida™ the ride Escape from Gringotts.  A 3-D roller coaster taking you on a journey through Gringotts bank while escaping from He Who Must Not Be Named!  But first you have to find Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida™, which is hidden behind a huge façade.

 

 

Let’s head back over to Islands of Adventure™ because I really was amazed at how real, authentic, and alive the attractions felt to me.  The amount of thought, care, and detail to plan out each attraction was the most surprising and exciting part of being there.  In Jurassic World™ the dinosaurs looked so real, and the ride made me feel like I was in the movie.  On the Kong ride, there were many times I felt like the truck was falling but it was just the 3D effects and mechanics of the ride.  I can go into each section of Islands but this would begin to get long.  One last thing I will say about Islands of Adventure™ is that no matter which section you are in, you really, truly feel like you are part of that world.

 

Now, let’s dive into Universal Studios Florida™, the originally built portion.  It is so much larger than it was 23 years ago, but to me the attention to detail was not as strong as the Islands.  It felt more like an amusement park than an experience, except when you are in Diagon Alley.  However, that all changes once you enter a building to get on a ride.  WOW, you are thrown head first into that attraction.   You feel like you are talking to Jimmy Fallon while racing around the streets of New York City, or looking down on the headquarters of Men in Black while waiting in line to shoot aliens with lasers.  The details that go into the rides, are like no other amusement park I have ever been to. 

 

 

 

Overall, I loved my experience as Universal Orlando® and we will be taking the kids there soon.  Most rides you need to be 40 inches or taller to ride, but the play lands in Islands will keep those under 40 inches entertained for hours.  I must warn those who experience motion sickness on 3D simulator rides, this may not be the destination for you.  There are several rides where you have to wear 3D glasses to experience the full effect.  The effects are amazing, but will make you feel a bit off the rest of the day. 

 

Call me to book your next Universal Orlando vacation with your family.  If you are thinking you want to split your time between Universal Orlando and Disney, that’s easy!  We can easily set that up for you. 

 

Mary is a graduate of the Disney’s College of Knowledge and a Universal Orlando Specialist. 

 

 

 

NOTE:  All Photos taken by Mary Yohannan, Rights Reserved

 

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

I am opening up and you may be surprised.

Liz Hough on

  Why I Do What I Do?

I am sharing the REAL reason why I do what I do and you may be surprised.

 

I recently had a friend look over my website and told me I was missing a key element, Why do I do what I do.  As I started to explain to her how I became a travel consultant she stopped me and told me that it wasn’t the “Why.”  So after some soul searching and a lot of thinking, I wanted to share with everyone my “Why.”

 

Travel is a passion of mine and it is something I absolutely love to do.  When I personally travel, I get feelings of excitement, relaxation, interest, curiosity, and a bit of anxiety.  When it all comes together I have created a memory that reminds me of all of these emotions. 

I have traveled to 17 European countries, and in each country, I experienced what I just described.  I felt excitement when we were roaming the canals of Venice and thinking this is nothing like Italy in Epcot Center (even though it is a good replica). 

 

 

 

 

I felt relaxation in Scotland when my husband and I enjoyed an anniversary dinner on Rose Street in Edinburgh drinking Scottish beer.  I was interested in touching a 1000-year-old entrance to a library while in Ephesus in Turkey.

 

 

 I was curious what smoked lard and Palinka tasted like in a small café in Bucharest, Romania.   I was anxious going up the cogwheel train to Jungfraujoch in Switzerland while my head was pounding from altitude changes.  The best part of travel is that when I am not traveling and I think of those places I instantly get a smile on my face regardless of the emotion that I felt. 

 

 

 

 

Was I travel consultant when I did all of those things?  No.  It was because of those trips, journeys, vacations that I decided I wanted to help plan those types of experiences for other people.  I wanted to make sure that when someone came to me for planning a vacation to another country that we planned something amazing and unique.  A journey of memories that causes emotions which can be triggered back at just the thought of them.  When I plan a customized European vacation for someone there are many times an emotion from one of our trips will come up and I just get a smile on my face.  So I guess in some ways my job makes me smile, a lot.  What a great job to have!

 

It has taken a friend who had a smile and her head tilted to one side, asking my “why” to really understand why I love my job.  It is the people who I plan amazing journeys with, who I now feel are friends, it is the amazing places that I get to go and experience, and it is being able to spend more time with my family that has really made me love my job. 

 

I want to thank everyone who has planned an amazing vacation, trip, or journey with me.  You have been a great support to my business and when you work with me you are also supporting my family.

 

 

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

 

Next up…Charleston, S.C.

Liz Hough on

If you haven’t been, here’s why you must go!

 

Our family recently took a family vacation to Charleston, South Carolina.  The last time my husband and I were in Charleston we didn’t have any children and we enjoyed the pleasures of Down Home Southern Cooking.  We walked around the romantic waterfront and sat in front of the iconic Pineapple fountain while watching the sunset project beautiful hues of pink and purple onto the bay.  We walked around the entire historic district taking in the sights of various mansions, quaint alleyways, and hearing ghost tales of years that have gone by.   One thing about Charleston is that the historic district remains the same, not much had changed in the past 10 years since we were there last.  Except, this time we had two little ones with us. 

 

We didn’t have much time at the Pineapple fountain before one of the children had a meltdown and didn’t want to get a picture as a family, but we tried anyway.  The meltdown probably came from a long day of excitement, playfulness, and good food as there is a lot of amazing things to do in Charleston with children.  Every day the kids were exhausted, ate well, and couldn’t wait to get out of the hotel the next day to see where we were going next.  One thing to make sure of when you travel to Charleston with the kids is to make sure they get a good, hearty breakfast.  There are so many amazing breakfast places in the historic district and we found them by simply asking our concierge where to eat.  There is an amazing place on Meeting Street called Toast that has homemade biscuits the size of my hand.  They may be large but they are not heavy. We visited Toast on several occasions as they had some interesting breakfast items that we wanted to try, and the food was consistently good. 

Anywhere we travel, if there is an aquarium or zoo, it is a must stop on our itinerary.  It had been 10 years since I was last at the Charleston Aquarium so I didn’t recall exactly what was there.  Our first stop was to the outdoor enclosure which was a nice surprise.  It was a large pool containing several rays.  If the rays come close to the surface of the pool you can actually touch them.  Now if you have recently seen Finding Dory, there is a part in the movie where the animals in the “touch pool” don’t really liked to be “touched” and when the kids put their hands in the water they all start to find hiding places.  I felt like this scene played out when we were at this pool as the rays clearly didn’t want us to touch them because they all stayed at the bottom!  There were two windows on the bottom of the pool that you could look in and see the rays swimming around happily and that kept the kids occupied for some time. 

 

 

 

Inside the aquarium they have several great exhibits including their large tank with a sea turtle that is my size in height.  They put on various educational seminars about every half hour at various exhibits throughout the aquarium and these seminars really kept the interest of the kids.  One seminar was about alligators and crocodiles, and at the end of the seminar our children actually had the opportunity to pet an alligator, which was a huge excitement for a 5-year-old.  After talking with another employee about what fish and rays eat, she gave each of us a small cup with uncooked shrimp.  The kids put the shrimp on the end of a rod and then they feed the rays.  This was a interesting experience because the rays come up to the glass and use the glass as guidance to find the food.  They are quite aggressive when it comes to food and the large rays would push the smaller rays to the side to get the food.  Again, pure excitement for the kids!  I would highly recommend a half-day to do the aquarium, and try to schedule it so you can see the seminars.

 

 

 

The Children’s Museum of Charleston is another must when visiting Charleston with the kids.  It is all one floor and there are seven large rooms each with a different theme.  I personally like the castle themed room, but the pirate ship was a huge hit with the kids.  The seven rooms are: the arts and crafts room, the castle room, water play room, large building blocks room, pirate ship room, the baby play area, and grocery shopping room.  Each room was designed to have the kids engaged in some type of activity and they were able to dress up in various characters in some of the rooms.  It was fun to see the kids dressed up like pirates and running around a pirate ship yelling at each.  I also enjoyed the grocery store because the kids have a shopping list and then they must go around and pick up the items.  Once they have retrieved all of the items they bring them to the kids sized check-out line and the parents can scan their items.  The kids pay with fake money and they can bag their own items.   

 

 

 

If you have little ones under the age of two, there is a whole area that is enclosed so the kids can’t get out.  They have soft pillows, slides, climbing stairs, and big foam blocks for the little ones to play.  The time flew by so fast when we were here that we didn’t get to go outside to ride the big fire truck or do any of the other outdoor activities.  I would highly recommend the Children’s Museum for either a half-day or if the weather is nice and you can play outside, a good 6 hours. 

 

Check out next week’s ezine when I talk about how to survive at a plantation with kids!

 

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

 

Do you have anxiety about going to Disney?

Liz Hough on

This past weekend I had a booth at fitness expo in Allentown, Pennsylvania showcasing Disney Destinations.  The expo was for the St. Luke’s Marathon on Sunday, so those who signed up to run would come in and get their race bibs and shirts.  One of my independent contractors and I set up our booth, put on our glowing Minnie Mouse ears, and were ready to talk about all things Disney, and oh boy, did we talk Disney!  We talked about everything from runDisney events to Disney cruises, but in our conversations with other moms, there still seems to be this hesitation or anxiety about taking the kids to Disney. 

 

 

Disney should not be a vacation where anyone in the family has anxiety about going.  It is known as the “Happiest Place on Earth” but for some people it can turn into the “Worst Time of Their Lives.”  A lot goes into planning a Disney vacation, much more than planning a trip to Williamsburg or a cruise, but I am always telling people, you don’t have to do it alone!  We are here to help!

 

I want to share some of the comments that I heard this weekend because it may be some of the same hesitation that you have or someone you know may have in taking their family to Disney, and what my response was to these anxious moms.

 

1.)    Comment – “Disney is too expensive to take the whole family” 

 

Response – “There are several resorts on Disney property that can be costly but did you know that Disney actually has three resort categories to try and fit all budgets?  Maybe the first time you go you can try out a value resort which still offers many great amenities including pools and onsite eating.  When promotions come out we can easily apply them to your reservation so you can even save more money!”

 

2.)    Comment – “My kids are too young and they won’t remember it”

 

Response – “That is the best time to go!  If you have kids under the age of three their admission to the park is free and they don’t have to be on a dining plan!  If your kids watch Disney Junior and know who Sofia the First, Jake, or even the characters from Mickey Mouse’s clubhouse then they are going to have a blast.  The first time I took my youngest was at 18 months and her face was so excited every time she met any of the characters, but mostly Sofia the First.  There are plenty of rides that have no height restrictions, and adding Memory Maker to your package allows you to get hundreds of pictures taken that when your child gets older they can see their toddler self with their favorite characters.”

 

 

3.)    Comment – “Too much to pack like car seats and strollers.”

 

Response – “Well let’s make sure you stay at one of the Disney resorts then so you can take advantage of the Magical Express where in the state of Florida on all buses and motorcoaches you don’t need car seats, so then you don’t have to bring them with you.  You don’t want to rent a stroller from Disney as it will cost you as much as a park ticket for the entire weeks, but we have two stroller rental companies that we recommend in Orlando who deliver the stroller right to the resort so when you check-in they bring it out to you and when you check-out you just give it back to the front desk so the company can pick it up at the resort.  No lugging strollers through the airport or packing in the car. 

 

4.)    Comment – “Food is expensive at Disney and so are the dining plans”

 

Response – “If your kids and you have specific snacks that you like I always recommend shipping them to the resort ahead of time.  Go to the post office and get a medium flat rate box that will cost you around $18 to ship.  Stuff the box with juices, snacks, Horizon individual milk containers, sun screen, etc.  My last trip I sent down two boxes of food, one was 20 pounds which would have cost me $45 to ship by regular mail but was $17.45 in a flat rate box.  I sent two boxes for under $40 and that left more room in my suitcase for clothes and shoes.  Now this may make me sound like a bad travel consultant, but I am not going to sell a dining plan to someone if they aren’t going to get their money’s worth!  If you plan on doing a lot of characters’ meals, and what I mean by a lot is around every other day, then the dining plan pays for itself.  At that point it is like you are paying for the table service and getting a quick service and snack for free every day.  And their quick service meals are a large amount of food!”

 

5.)    Comment – “I don’t know the best time of year to go”

 

Response – “That is why you call me!  There is a lot of historical data to show some of the best weeks to go to the parks without a large crowd of people, but let’s talk about how old your children are and when they are in and out of school.”

 

 

 

 

Disney is a great place to take the kids at any age.  Whether they are toddlers and are in love with Disney junior characters or are teenagers looking for something thrilling, Disney does have something for all ages.  So if you are on the fence about taking the kids on a Disney vacation, give me a call and we can talk about all the options that are available for you and your family.

 

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation.  Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs. 

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Please understand we get several requests per day for European vacations. We provide experiences for our clients that provide a lot of value. If you are looking for a budget vacation, that is NOT us.

 

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