#DreamVacation Archives - Life is Better Traveling

New at Disney

What’s new at Walt Disney World ?

This is going to be a great year to take a Walt Disney World Vacation and I am excited to tell you why! January through March, guests can enjoy Disney After Hours at the Magic Kingdom®. This is a great time to take advantage of little to no wait times for over 25 rides and attractions. For adults or adults with teenagers who stay up late into the night, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of some family bonding time. The Magic Kingdom® is usually open until 2am and to keep you going through the night, snacks and bottled beverages are provided. This event is an extra ticketed event, so be prepared to pay around $149 per person.

For the last four years Disney has been hinting at a whole new land in the Animal Kingdom® theme park and we have all seen the renderings, but it looks like it is finally to go open this summer. Pandora – The World of Avatar will have several new attractions including Na’vi River Journey. This ride puts you into a canoe like boat that takes you down a river with the exotic glowing plants and interesting creatures. If you are looking for more of a thrill, then try Avatar Flight of the Passage which will allow you to experience flying with banshees.

Even though the new Star Wars themed land at Hollywood Studios isn’t open yet, that doesn’t mean Disney isn’t taking advantage of adding in new characters from the latest Star Wars Movie. Advanced Weapons Research or AWR are now part of a new scene in the “Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away” show. There are also new props from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie at the Star Wars Launch Bay, and new footage of the behind the scenes of the movie. I was going to talk about this in my next newsletter but I am too excited so I am going to share it now!! Are you ready, this is so exciting?!? If you are a Star Wars super fan, there is now a 7-hour guided tour led by a Star Wars “all-in the know” tour guide!! This tour includes front of the line access to Star Tours, an in-depth tour of the new Launch Bay, Jedi training (ages 4 -12), Star Wars themed menu items from the Backlot Express, and to end it all off, prime seating with sweets and specialty beverages for the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party. The number of people on the tour is limited so I highly recommend making reservations in advance.

If you had been to WDW in 2016 you may have been surprised that Hollywood Studio® was half the park it used to be. Don’t worry, all good changes are on their way with new and exciting rides and attractions. They also have recently opened PizzeRizzo, a two-story eatery that serves fresh salads and personal sized pizzas. If you have always been a big fan of Rizzo, like myself, then this is must stop quick service restaurant. A quick note, all quick-service dining plans have removed the dessert from the meal. In return they have added an extra snack to the plan so now everyone on the plan will receive 2 snacks per night of stay.

The Muppets are jumping theme parks! They will still be in Hollywood Studios® entertaining people with their quirky MuppetsVision®, but they now have their own show that plays several times a day in the Magic Kingdom® in front of the Hall of Presidents. Get ready for Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and The Great Gonzo in “The Muppets Presents…Great Moments in American History” where they put their spin on the what they believe were the greatest moments in history. This is a live show so you never know what is going to happen.

Epcot is the theme park to go to for their festivals. They host the Food and Wine Festival and the Flower and Garden Festival to name a few. This winter for the first time, Epcot will be hosting the Festival of the Arts which combines visual, culinary, and performing arts all in one place. For six weeks only, you can take art classes, watch Broadway Style singing shows, and feast on delicious creations that, of course in Disney style, look too good to eat! They are only running these special exhibits for six weeks and on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday’s only.

MagicBands are now part of your everyday wardrobe when you are at Walt Disney World, and I still truly believe have revolutionized the efficiency of how Disney can handle so many people. I am surprised in the last 4 years that Disney hasn’t redesigned the MagicBand to make it sleeker looking, and easy to wear, but wait they have! They have redesigned the look a bit so that it is more flat to your wrist and a bit wider. You will still have all the amazing benefits that the MagicBand had in the past, but now with a cool design.

Walt Disney World has so many changes coming up that I just want to help book everyone an amazing family Disney vacation. Make sure to contact me to book your next Disney vacation because you never know what new changes are coming or have been made!!

P.S. Call me this year to plan your AMAZING Disney vacation. I always recommend to start planning your Walt Disney World vacation 8 to 12 months in advance so we can start planning everything out for you.

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.

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Travel Protection covers you for….

Liz Hough on

Let’s talk about what you get with Travel Protection, because you may be missing out!

You have been saving up your money for a few years to take your dream vacation. You are at the airport and the gate attendant announces the flight will be delayed due to mechanical issues. This delay causes you to miss your connecting flight to your final destination. Many hours later you get to your destination, and you slipped on a wet spot in the lobby landing flat on your back. You feel a pinch, and have trouble standing up straight and walking. At this point you wonder if the universe is telling you that you shouldn’t have taken this vacation, then you remember, YOU HAVE TRAVEL PROTECTION! You can use your travel protection to cover all of these weird occurrences.

Facts show that 17% of those who traveled had their travel impacted by medical problems, natural disasters like a hurricane, or mechanical/carrier caused issued which delayed their trip for more than 3 hours. When you have purchased travel insurance, also called travel protection, there are three main services that you are getting:

1. Medical Coverage

Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, do not cover a person outside the borders of the United States. Your credit card may have some medical coverage, but you may have had to purchase your trip with that card, and even then, the coverage amount is minimal. Hospitals outside of the United States will require a person to make full payment before they are allowed to leave the hospital, no matter how much the charges may be. This could lead to a financial hardship on the whole family. With Travel Insurance, you have several tiers of medical coverage and it can either act as your primary medical insurance or secondary medical insurance.

2. Travel Arrangements

There are many things that can happen including trip cancellation, trip delay, and trip interruption. Life happens and sometimes things happen right before a trip that forces you to cancel but the supplier might have 100% non-refundable cancellation policy. But your travel insurance doesn’t and you can recoup the cost of that trip not taken. Did you know that when you have trip interruptions you can be reimbursed for meals, lost luggage, and missed connections?

3. Concierge services

Most people don’t realize that travel insurance companies offer this service. Want to go golfing? Call the travel insurance company and they will set up a tee time for you. Did you forget to send flowers to your mother for her birthday before you left to go on vacation, call the travel insurance company and they will send flowers, balloons, or a cake. There are so many possibilities to use this service and it is all part of the plan you purchase.

Travel Protection is for everyone who is going to take a vacation or even a small trip. If your credit card offers travel protection, you really need to make sure you check what is covered, how much is covered, and if you need to have purchased your vacation with that card to get the coverage. Since becoming a travel consultant, I have been purchasing travel protection for myself and my family even when we take small trips here in the United States. Why do I do this? I know that it is there if I need to use it, I know how much I am covered for, and if I need any reservations somewhere I can call the concierge services to do it for me. Oh, and it also gives me peace of mind.

Stayed tuned for next week’s newsletter about knowing what you get when to purchase travel protection. Also, if you know someone who is about to take a vacation and haven’t purchased travel protection, please forward this email onto them and tell them to sign-up for my HIGH CONTENT newsletters about travel at LifeisBetterTraveling.com.