Reviews

Bring the Scents of Disney into Your Home

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Product Review: Magic Candle Company

Scent: “Banshee Flight”

If you’ve been lucky enough to ride Flight of Passage (and not wait 180 minutes), then you’ve experienced one of the best rides Disney World has to offer.

Everything about Pandora’s Flight of Passage is magical – the sites (have you seen the floating mountains?!), the sounds (love the soundtrack!), and the smells (take a deep breath when you’re on the ride – it’s so good!). All three together create an unmatchable experience and transport you to Avatar’s world of Pandora.

Magic Candle Company has done it again! They’ve captured the magic of Flight of Passage and created the scent “Banshee Flight.” I LOVE the candle – if you close your eyes, you feel as if you’re on the back of a banshee flying through Pandora! Bring a little bit of the Avatar magic into your home with this great scent – they offer candles, wax melts, fragrance oils and their NEW shower melts and bath fizzies!

I don’t know how they manage to capture the scent perfectly every time, but Magic Candle Company’s products are all incredible. Bring their collection of WDW resort and park-inspired scents to your home to smell the magic we all know and love so much.

Have a favorite resort or ride? Magic Candle Company has a huge selection of scents, so check out their website and see if your favorites are there!

Shop Here

Use the code wdwparkplanners10 to get 10% off of your next purchase!

Planning Tips

3 Tips for Visiting Walt Disney World in the Summer

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Summer in Orlando is what you would expect – hot, humid and crowded. But don’t let that stop you from booking your trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. Our family’s “usual” time to travel to Disney is the beginning of August, which is prime time for heat and crowds.

We’ve been going that time of year for as long as I can remember, so we’ve really gotten it down. Here’s how we’ve managed to do it all these years…

1. Don’t spend all day at the parks – this is my general plan for Disney, but especially important in the summer months!!

  • Hit the parks in the morning. I always recommend getting there before the parks open.
  • Stay through lunch/early afternoon. Leave before the heat (or summer storms) hit.
  • Head back to your resort. Spend some time cooling off at the pool or in the AC.
  • Visit the parks again for dinner and nighttime. You’ll be refreshed and ready to go, and the heat will have subsided!

2. Dress accordingly

  • Wear light clothes that dry quickly. Summer months are great for athletic clothes. You’re likely going to be sweaty or wet from the summer storms that blow through, so you want clothes that will dry fast.
  • Comfy shoes are always a must! This might seem obvious, but don’t wear brand new shoes to the parks. Wear shoes you know won’t rub in the heat. Lightweight gym shoes are my go-to.

3. Bring the right gear

Portable fans/fan spray bottles for the kids. They’ll be happy to have it while you wait in lines or are watching the parade. You’ll be happy to cool off too!

Ponchos. Summer storms blow in quickly, and they pass through even more quickly! Don’t get caught in the rain without them, or you’ll get soaked. We like to buy disposable ponchos in bulk in advance of our trips, so you can just throw them in your bags and toss them when you’re done.

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Reviews

Resort Review: Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

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WDW Park Planners Rating:

Location: Disney Springs Resort Area

Resort Category: Deluxe Villa Resort

Disney’s Saratoga Springs is a beautiful, Victorian-style resort inspired by the late 1800’s hotspot in New York. Famous for its spas and horse racing, the Disney resort carries over these traditions.

My husband and I spent a weekend here in December when we came in for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I’ll be honest, we probably only spent about 15 hours total (including sleep) at the hotel the entire weekend. We got in late Friday and headed straight to Magic Kingdom for the party, and then were up and at ‘em early Saturday. Same thing Saturday night/Sunday.

That being said, the resort was not what we needed for a quick weekend trip. Our biggest and only issue was that the resort was so large and sprawling. It took longer to get to/from the parks because there were multiple bus stops across the property that the buses had to stop at on their way in/out of the property. We quickly realized this and adjusted our departure times accordingly in the mornings (and this was a part of why we spent even less time at the hotel).

If we were a family traveling to WDW and staying for a week, then this location might be better. The pools looked great, and the property has a nice golf course and spa. Being only a skip and a hop away from Disney Springs, the location would be perfect for heading across the lake in the evening for some live music, drinks and delicious dinners.

The room was great – very spacious and clean, so no complaints there. However, we didn’t love the lobby layout compared to other resorts that have such awesome spaces. For a Deluxe Resort, this one was underwhelming to us for the amount of money we spent on our room.

WDW Park Planners Tip:

This hotel is made up of studios and villas, so it’s great for large groups or families. To save some $$ and to have some healthier options, you can order groceries on Amazon to be delivered directly to the hotel. It only needs to be done a few days in advance, and you can order perishable and non-perishable items. We always like to order breakfast foods such as cereal, afternoon snacks like granola bars and a case of water! You can do this at any resort 🙂

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