I had wanted to ride the newest update to Soarin’ ever since it was announced, which was during my Disney College Program back in 2015. In fact, refurbishment began the very same day my program ended. This summer, I finally got the chance to ride it. I was apprehensive about the changes, as I did not hear good things about them. The only thing that seemed to change with queue was the addition of monitors similar to the ones at airports that post the time of flights. The monitors show trivia questions about the different places Soarin’ takes its passengers. This is a great way to pass time in line. I love that this adds an educational component to the attraction as Epcot was made to be an educational park. Fortunately, the preshow video with Kronk Patrick Warburton still remains. Before he appears, a video of an airplane flying over a map shows the audience where it will take its passengers. My first impression of seeing the map was that there are a lot of...

Once I heard that a few of my former Disney College Program roommates had been accepted for a summer alumni program, I knew I had to go back to Walt Disney World to visit them. Due to both my work schedule and theirs, and the fact that I am a broke college student, I could only visit for a weekend. Normally I do not recommend trying to do all of Walt Disney World in just a couple of days as it can be very overwhelming. When visiting the parks, I stuck to one of my biggest tips for visitors, which is to not try to do too much. It’s impossible to do absolutely everything the Resort has to offer over a week long stay, let alone a weekend long stay. Keeping this in mind, I prioritized about 5 things that I really wanted to do and left the rest of my schedule open for flexibility. The main focus of my visit was my friends, and not necessarily the parks. It did not matter what we did, as long as we did it together. One of my biggest priorities was explorin...

      If you’re a Disney fanatic, you’ll have to fight off the urge to buy everything as soon as you step into a store on Disney property. And after working in a Disney World gift shop, I’m willing to bet that your kids are the same. The only thing worse than a kid in a candy store is a kid in a Disney store. Souvenirs are not completely necessary, but they do serve as a physical reminder of your happy vacation memories. Children will especially love a new toy to play with or a t-shirt to wear to school. But you do not have to buy every toy, or even any toy. Here are a few tips on saving money on souvenirs. How much to spend? You can limit your children’s spending in fun, educational ways other than a harsh “no.” Setting An Amount Giving your kid a Disney gift card is a great way to teach financial responsibility. Give them a preloaded gift card that they can use throughout the trip on souvenirs. They have the freedom to spend it ...

  The first visit to Walt Disney World is stressful, confusing, and a dream come true. I am not the first one to do an article similar to this. But as with most everything, everyone has different experiences.  I had never gone to a Disney park during my childhood. When I was 19 years old, I was accepted into the Disney College Program. My parents drove me halfway across the country to Orlando to drop me off. We decided to visit the parks the day before check-in day. This way I could get the "OHMYGODOHMYGOD I'M AT WALT DISNEY WORLD!" out of my system before I had to appear professional inside the parks. We decided on a park hopper ticket to visit Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. We arrived at Magic Kingdom mid-morning, hopped over to EPCOT in the afternoon, and returned to Magic Kingdom in the evening. As with most people, there were definitely some things I wish I had known before my first visit. I'm sharing them so hopefully others can learn f...

*SOME minor SPOILERS* As always, I had several expectations bef ore watching. My standard for Emma Watson as Belle was very high. I 've always thought Emma would make the perfect Belle in a live action remake, even before one was announced. I'm always wary of CGI. When I was kid, CGI was still very experiem e ntal and it could look awful. But since then, technology and artistry has improved. I really should stop being wary of CGI . Disney has not let me down in with movies like Zootopia, Moana and The Jungle Book live action remake.  I saw B eauty and the Beast in theaters the Friday it was released .  I had wanted to get tickets for the 7 pm showing, but they were all sold out! Instead I booked t ickets for the 10 pm showing. It's a good thing I reserved tickets because the theater was packed!  Before I launch into the review, it is important to note that I am n ot here to compare 1991 version to 2017 version. Both are amazing movies in their own right and wh...