Traveling With Meghan

a travel blog

How to Make Disney Park Pass Reservations

The COVID-19 travel era is here. In order to keep the travel wheel rolling, there are several steps added to planning processes for many destinations. Walt Disney World Resort Parks are planning to reopen in phases starting on July 11, 2020. The Disney Parks will require making pass reservations. The Disney Park Pass Reservations system went live on June 22, 2020. Just like when Fastpass+ reservations were new on the scene, there is a certain amount of confusion around park pass reservations. I have created a step-by-step guide with pictures for how to make these reservations and am including some tips for the process. Information is correct as of June 23, 2020 Click here to Download the Disney Park Pass Reservations Guide Important dates for Park Passes: The park pass system goes through September 2021. June 22, 2020– all resort guests with valid admission are able to make reservations. June 26, 2020– all annual passholders without resort reservations. June 28, 2020– all existing ticket holders. Here are a few tips that may help ease the fears of making park passes: Start on a computer if possible. Clear your cookies in chrome (My Disney Experience is optimized for Chrome) or use an incognito window. First, find a work around for logging in if you’re met with the “pink castle of death.” For example, pretend to make a dining reservation so you’re able to login to My Disney Experience and then follow the steps in the guide. Another tip for Passholders (though a fix has been reported for passholders that have multiple resort reservations on 6.23.2020), start with the last day of your trip and work backwards to the first. When selecting your party of guests, make sure everyone has the same type of tickets. For example, an annual passholder may find difficulties booking a party with someone who has a regular ticket. Also, don’t add those that don’t have tickets to your party and those that are under three. You will not be able to complete the reservation process. Look at Park Pass availability here. As the different reservation categories open up, you’ll be able to see availability under the different tabs. Note the dates above for what’s open while you’re looking. Keep up with all the information about a future trip to Walt Disney World by following the Know Before You Go page.

Read More

Does Disney Cruise Line Ever Have Sales?

disney cruise line ever have sales

With their magical commercials, amazing inclusions, and a private island that you don’t have to tender for, Disney Cruise Line makes dreams come true… but all magic comes at a price, dearie. The prices of some itineraries leave those that want to cruise with Disney with a burning question: Does Disney Cruise Line Ever Have Sales? Does Disney Cruise Line ever have sales? The answer isn’t as cut and dry as “yes” or “no,” but takes into account many more factors and produces more of a “sometimes” answer. In my experience, I’ve seen specific Disney Cruise Line sailings become deeply discounted. Those are typically the opening ended repositioning sailings. That means they start in one port and end in another. For families with children, those aren’t always the best fit or they’re not at good times due to school. I’ve also seen Disney Cruise line sales on the deposits, offering half-off of the deposit, but you end up paying the same amount for the sailing in the long run because that other half of the deposit is rolled into the final payment amount. While the deposit may not be the same price, the sailing is over all. Both of these offerings are seen far less frequently than with other cruise lines, who you see new sales from all the time. With the gray-area answer of “sometimes” on Disney Cruise Line sales, but a desire to book and go, the logical follow up question is: How do I save money on a Disney Cruise? There are a few things I advise to help save some money on that magical Disney Cruise Line vacation. Book Early This I cannot stress enough. Booking early ensures that you’re in on the ground level. Unlike other cruise lines that will start to drop prices as the sailing gets closer to fill the ship, Disney Cruise Line sales aren’t like that. The rates will go up as the ship books and the sailing date gets closer. When new itineraries are announced, be ready. If you’re thinking about it, have your travel advisor put you on a list to be notified when the next Disney Cruise Line itineraries will be released. This is when the best rates are to be had. From personal experience, I’ve seen a sailing jump over $400 the first weekend it was announced. Booking on release day saved my client over $400 verus…

Read More

Using a Travel Agent & Airbnb

The two don’t seem to go together: Travel Agent and Airbnb. Most travelers think you can’t use one with the other, but there are three ways that you can still use the expertise of a travel agent and stay in your dream Airbnb. Let’s dispel that myth, shall we? First, there are travel agents that charge a fee and will cover every little detail from A to Z of your trip. That can get expensive and that’s not who we’re talking about here. We’re chatting about fee free agents, like me, who can assist with other parts of your trip if you like to stay in Airbnbs. I get it. There were times when Airbnb was the best fit for me. Sometimes there’s nothing like getting the feeling of home abroad and also experiencing that local feel. There’s also nothing quite like a travel adviser having your back in the following situations though: Travel Insurance If you travel without it, consider a few instances where travel insurance can give you peace of mind: coverage for lost luggage coverage for trip delays coverage for emergency medical services coverage for emergency medivac coverage for trip cancellation These are just a few situations. There are even plans that cover if your pet passes away. Most travel cards do include some insurance for your purchases, and in most cases (thankfully) that’s more than enough. For those moments when it’s not, a travel adviser can assist in guiding you to the right plan to cover most situations that may arise. Transportation There is a myth that it costs more for a travel agent to book your flights, so let’s dispel that one too. It doesn’t. Plain and simple. It can but just like it can cost more if you book your flights at a time when they’re not at their lowest. A travel agent will watch for the best time to buy your flight. You can also package it with transfers to and from your Airbnb for an even better deal, especially when Ubering isn’t an option and you may land and have to haggle for a taxi. Tours Still want that heart of Paris feel, but don’t want to wait an hour in line for tickets to the Eiffel Tower and then another hour to use them? Travel Agents can arrange tours for you even if you’re staying at an Airbnb. There are all…

Read More

Heathered Jersey Dress:: Remixed

This is what I wore today. I really dislike what I wore today. Oh well. If I changed again I would have been unacceptably late to work. Last week when I wore this dress, I absolutely LOVED how it turned out. This week not so much. It was definitely warm. Definitely comfortable. Less than flattering though. For several minutes I stood there contemplating my cobalt tights instead of the black leggings with knee highs underneath. Cobalt leggings might’ve been a better choice. Maybe no belt? I don’t know. What I was pleased with in this outfit were the knee highs I wore under my leggings. Cheating at it’s finest. Elastic waistband and opaqueness of the leggings with the sheer foot of the knee highs. I received the knee highs from Kushyfoot, a company who designs unique knee highs and tights. Call me an old lady, but I like knee highs. I’m hot natured, so adding a full extra layer is a bit much for me. These kushyfoot knee highs have a neat design on the foot soles to “massage” the bottoms of your feet. Though I wouldn’t call it massaging, it’s similar to circulation footwear (ya know, like for diabetics) and it did keep my feet from getting tingly after wearing wedges all day. I’m excited to try the other items they sent me. Do you have any suggestions for this outfit? Help me out. Where did it go wrong? **this post contains affiliate links** dress:: Madewell (back in stock, similar) plaid shirt:: Old Navy necklace:: J.Crew (similar) belt:: Old Navy (very old, similar) leggings:: Old Navy knee highs:: c/o Kushyfoot wedges:: TOMS Linking up with: Lauren at Fizz and Frosting

Read More

Sunday Lately:: Wk. 1

Today I am incredibly psyched to start a new link-up with my amazing blogging buddies, Katy and Nicole. We have been doing My Favs on Thursdays for the past year and we agreed to take our link-up in a new direction and to a new day! I’m especially excited since my previous Sunday link-up ended a few months ago. Welcome to Sunday Lately. Here are this week’s lately words. Swatching all my #julepmaven polish acquisitions so that I can see the colors when they go to their new storage. #julep #nailpolish #organization A photo posted by Meghan Hayes (@meghan_hayesdays) on Jan 1, 2015 at 1:36pm PST ::Planning:: many hypothetical trips that I hope become realities soon. I have a friend and her little family in Mexico I want to visit and I haven’t been to New York City in 15 years. That must be some kind of sin. Of course, there’s the looming Disney World trips for the rest of the year that haven’t been booked. The travel bug is making me itch something fierce! ::Loving:: my job. Though I have complained about it before, I love being busy. January 1 is always a tumultuous time at a doctor’s office with insurance starting over, end of year accounting details, inventory, etc. Being busy is my favorite past time. Things are finally starting to fall into place too. I feel like I know what I’m doing now. ::Reading:: still Amy Pohler’s Yes Please. The reading wagon left without me a few weeks ago, so I’m behind on my fun reading. It’s not necessarily what I was expecting it to be, but I’m looking forward to finishing it and developing a more thorough opinion. ::Wishing:: for a good dresser to fall into my lap. Not literally, but figuratively. A dresser is probably a shallow sounding wish, but organizationally speaking, it would do wonders for our master bedroom and closet. We’re working with limited space and I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that we need a dresser after trying to go without one for a few years now. I’m picky and Corey actually has an opinion about furniture pieces, so we’ve been without one. ::Feeling:: so energized about getting all my bathroom goods in order. Makeup from my many mascaras to the tiny samples of luminizer to try. Then there’s the facial lotions, hair care, nail polish, and the many hotel shampoos…

Read More

About Me

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, I relocated to a small town outside of Athens after I married. Joining me and my husband on the family farm are many, many animals. My cup is usually filled with coffee and my head is usually filled with dreams of my next destination. Nothing brings me more joy than having a part in creating those long remembered moments that are shared together in places new and old.

Get Social

Top Posts