Family Travel Archives

Our First Trip to Disney: The Moments That Changed My Heart Forever

There are trips you enjoy, and then there are trips that completely change your heart forever!

Our family’s very first trip to Walt Disney World Resort will always be one of the most special memories of my life. What started as a dance opportunity for my daughter turned into a vacation that changed the way I viewed family travel forever.

At just 6 years old, my daughter had the incredible opportunity to perform at Disney with her dance studio. As a mom, I was already emotional knowing how huge this moment was for her, but planning our first Disney vacation as a family made it feel even more magical. We were traveling with our whole family, a group of 8 including our little kids, so I wanted everything to be as smooth and memorable as possible!

I fell in love with the planning process. From booking dining reservations to learning Lightning Lane strategies, rope dropping, and mapping out the parks. There was something so exciting about building a trip centered around making memories together.

But nothing could have prepared me for the emotions of actually being there. Watching my daughter perform at Disney after all of her hard work was a moment I will never forget. Seeing both of my children experience Disney magic for the first time was even more special than I imagined. The hugs from their favorite characters, the excitement of meeting princesses, the late night fireworks over the castle, the little giggles during rides, and the pure joy on their faces made every second worth it!

As parents, we spend so much time caught up in the chaos of everyday life that we sometimes forget how important it is to simply pause and be present together. This trip reminded me just how fast childhood goes by and how meaningful these moments truly are.

That vacation didn’t just give us memories that will last forever, it also sparked a passion in me for helping other families experience that same magic. It’s the reason I fell in love with Disney travel planning and why I now love helping families create stress free vacations filled with unforgettable moments together.

Our first Disney trip will always hold such a special place in my heart because it wasn’t just a vacation. It was the beginning of a new family tradition, unforgettable memories, and a dream that turned into a passion!

Free Dining at Disney World in 2026!

Disney World has released the 2026 Rates through October 31, 2026! They also sweetened the deal for guests with a Disney World Free Dining Offer in 2026!

Guests staying at a Disney World Resort IN 2026 will receive a free dining plan for kids ages 3-9 when they include the dining plan as part of their Disney World vacation package. As a reminder, all guests on a Disney Vacation package must have the same components, including the dining plan. This sweet deal may be combined with other offers Disney releases in 2026! Who doesn’t love Free Dining at Disney World and extra promotions?

We are often asked by clients if the Disney dining plans are a good option. When you include a dining plan with your Disney World vacation, it allows you to have most of your meals covered before you arrive on your vacation. This allows a great way to budget for your Disney World vacation.

An added bonus: Coming back in Summer 2026- Free Water Park Admission (more details coming soon). If you want to learn more about Walt Disney World special offers, resorts, or the theme parks, you can view more information HERE.

If you are ready to start planning your 2026 Disney World vacation, contact us today for a complimentary quote. We would love to help you grab your magical Disney World Free Dining offer!

We are Fee Free! Our concierge services are complimentary for our clients that book their vacations with us!

We love all things Disney and cannot wait to help you plan your magical vacation and add the sweet deal of Free Dining at Disney World! If you want to learn more about Disney World, visit our Disney Blogs Page!

New Moms, I Hear You! We only get 18 years!

Becoming a mom changes everything—our hearts, our priorities, and the way we dream for our children. We ask ourselves, How can I give them a childhood filled with more joy, more experiences, more memories than I had?

When my children were born, that desire filled my heart. I wanted them to experience adventure, to travel, to make memories with grandparents and great-grandparents. That passion led us to take small vacations, even just long weekends—to create those unforgettable moments together. Those trips became some of our most cherished memories, and they sparked something even bigger: my dream to help other families create their own magical experiences through travel.

I didn’t grow up traveling. In fact, I didn’t see the ocean until I was 21 and drove myself there. But after graduating college, I was gifted my very first Disney vacation. Our children were seven, and none of us had ever been to Disney World.

The moment I stepped onto Main Street, U.S.A., and saw Cinderella’s Castle for the first time, I was completely in love. It was pure magic. When our trip came to an end, I cried. So did one of my sons. I remember standing there that night, looking at the castle, and saying, Someday, I’m going to work for Disney. I had no idea that dream would evolve into something even greater—opening my own travel agency and helping families experience destinations around the world.

Now, I get to help other moms make those same priceless memories. Whether it’s your first trip to Disney or a dream vacation somewhere new, I’ll handle the details so you can focus on what truly matters—soaking in every magical moment with your family.

Let’s start planning your adventure today!

Why Who You Book With Matters Just as Much as What You Book

Planning a Walt Disney World vacation is more than just picking a package—it’s about making the right choices from the start. And that begins with who you trust to plan your trip.

Not All “Disney Travel Agents” Are Created Equal

Anyone can call themselves a “Disney travel agent,” and if they do, this means they are most likely not familiar with Disney policies and guidelines. No one is a “Disney travel agent”.

Before you book, ask yourself:

✅ Is this agent an expert, or just someone who dabbles in vacation planning? How many Disney vacations do they book in a year?
✅ Do they personally visit Disney theme parks often, staying up-to-date with changes?
✅ If using the call center, has the phone representative been to the parks?

Some agencies hire hundreds of agents, and not all of them have the hands-on experience needed to guide you through the nuances of a Disney trip. Booking with a knowledgeable, dedicated professional ensures you don’t make costly mistakes.

Choosing the Right Resort: A Small Decision with a Big Impact

Saving money upfront can sometimes cost you more in the long run. For example, if you choose Disney’s All-Star Resorts instead of Pop Century, you might think you’re getting a better deal. But here’s the catch:
🚍 All-Star Resorts share buses, meaning you could wait over an hour+ for transportation.
🚠 Pop Century has its own dedicated buses and access to the Disney Skyliner, which makes getting to the parks easier.

Now, imagine needing to book an Uber or Minnie Van™ daily to avoid long bus waits. That could add up to $100+ per day—money that could have been used toward a better resort with better amenities!

Know Your Dates or Risk Missing Out

Disney is all about timing. If you don’t know the key dates for your trip, you could miss out on some of the best experiences:
📅 When is your final payment due? Missing it could cancel your entire trip!
🍽 When can you book dining reservations? Popular spots like Cinderella’s Royal Table fill up fast.
⚡ When can you purchase and select your Lightning Lanes? Some attractions, like TRON and Rise of the Resistance, require strategy!

Avoid Booking Pitfalls: Do You Know What Works for Your Family?

Some travelers unknowingly book dining reservations inside a park on a day they planned to rest or pick Lightning Lane selections that don’t suit their family’s preferences. Having an expert on your side ensures your itinerary makes sense and maximizes your time.

The Biggest Mistake: Booking with an Inexperienced Agent

We often hear from guests who booked their vacation with an agent who wasn’t truly knowledgeable—and now they’re scrambling for help. Unfortunately, we can’t work for free to fix mistakes made by someone else. Think about it this way: Would you want to do someone else’s job without being compensated?

How to Pick the Right Travel Advisor

Before you commit, ask these essential questions:
🔹 How many times a year do you visit Disney?
🔹 How often do you stay updated on Disney changes?
🔹 Can I reach you easily if I have questions?

When you book with a true Disney travel expert, you get insider knowledge, stress-free planning, and a vacation tailored to your family’s needs.

Don’t leave your magical experience to chance—book with a pro who lives and breathes Disney, like one of our Fairytales and Sunsets Travel Advisors!

You can secure your Disney World vacation package with us for $200 deposit per package. Plus, utilize the layaway opportunity and make your deposit, then payments leading up to your vacation on your Disney World vacation.

Our Favorite Value Resorts at Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World offers a variety of resort options to accommodate everyone’s travel needs. I wanted to share my top picks for the value resorts. The value resorts are the lead in category at Disney World.

It is important to note that this category for the resorts will offer the cheapest amenities. For example, the coffee pots are Cuisinart, so you will not find a Keurig at the value resorts.

The value resorts offer around 260 square feet with two queen beds (one is a queen size table pull down bed), and one sink. The room sleeps up to four adults.

My favorite is Disney’s Pop Century Resort. This resort does not share buses, is attached to the Disney Skyliner, and offers three pools. The theming is so much fun and grandparents, parents, and kids love it. Step back in time with the decades from the 50’s to the 90’s. You can enjoy life-size Walkman’s and Rubik’s Cubes or walk your way through the giant foosball.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort is a solid resort for your stay. You will love the resort pools, the food court, quicker transportation to the theme parks, and access to the Disney Skyliner.

My second favorite are the Little Mermaid rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation. The theming is cute, and this resort does not share buses. You also have access to the Disney Skyliner. It is important to note that the Little Mermaid rooms are usually excluded from Disney promotions.

If you are looking at the remaining value resorts, they are very similar with their amenities. The only difference is the theming. Disney All-Star Movies is my top pick for no reason other than the theming around the property. Disney’s All-Star Music and then Disney’s All-Star Sports is my least favorite. All the value resorts are great, these are ranked by my favorite to least favorite.

When you are ready to book your next Magical Vacation, email Tammy Richardson.

Is Vacationing With Your Family Really Important?

Is vacationing with your family really that important? This is a question that I have received before, and my answer is always yes. I mean, you do love your family, right?

This resonated with me recently as we traveled and visited one of our sons. You see, the pandemic in 2020 stopped us from seeing him for 299 days. When you are close with your grown children, this makes the days and months so long. So why was this year so important to visit? When you are a military family, you appreciate your time together, even when it is short. You cherish those moments and look forward to it, just like a vacation! We knew deployment was coming so we took every opportunity to travel to him and spend time together.

I felt compelled to write this blog and I hope it inspires you to travel with the ones you love, no matter the destination. When your children are small, they look up to you, and they crave your attention and time. A vacation is one of the best ways to experience and capture these moments. When they are grown, they love it even more. Why you ask? They have the freedom of being grown and exploring on their own and still capturing those moments and attention with you. These are the things in life you and your kids will never regret. Take the vacation, no matter how big or small, or the destination, trust me, just go! You will smile looking back on these years together.

Love your family, embrace your time together, and keep on making those memories!

Travel Day or Park Day?

Should we visit a Theme Park on the day we arrive and/or the day we travel home? It’s a question we are asked quite frequently. We understand you want to get the most of out of your money and your trip. So, do you hit the ground running or do you pace yourself?

I have found through both personal experience and listening to my client’s testimonials, unless you are local to Walt Disney World Resort or Universal Orlando, I would recommend declaring both your first and last days at the destination, a travel day.

To put it simply, travel days are hard at any age. In most circumstances, you have an early flight to catch. Then you have the hustle and bustle of getting through TSA and your flight to your destination. With family in tow you know that someone is bound to be hungry as well. What should the plan be when you finally arrive at your resort?

I find this is the best time to take a rest, then explore your resort and see all they have to offer. Take a swim in the pool to refresh and rejuvenate the tired eyes, grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants on site to keep yourself and your family full and happy. Perhaps enjoy a movie under the stars to unwind and relax from your day of travel if your resort has that feature.

You can also choose to visit Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort or CityWalk at Universal Orlando. Both of these are shopping/dining districts where you do not need a ticket to visit. There are many entertainment venues built in as well that you can visit to keep the family happy.

Once your trip is over, most everyone in the family is exhausted. You will have walked what will seem like a million miles. You may just be looking forward to getting back home and seeing your family pet that you’ve had to leave behind. Some choose to make this last day a travel day so that they can slowly begin the “back to reality” routine.

However, there are many of you that still want to squeeze in those last-minute items that you either didn’t get to or would like to revisit. If you decide to make a go of it, please be sure you factor in the following things. Your transportation to the airport from your resort will pick you up anywhere between 2-3 hours before your flight home. Also, think of everything after you land at home, grabbing bags, getting home and settled.

In conclusion, you as a family have to decide what is right for you. Only you know your family and what they can handle. If you are rockstars and can keep going without skipping a beat – more power to you! If you’re the average family, like mine, I think leaving your travel days as such are the way to go!

Christine Ruszkay has over 3 + years specializing in all Disney destinations, Cruises, and Universal Orlando. Her joy of planning your vacation comes from her passion to help others experience the happiness and excitement while making memories on your AMAZING trip! Her concierge services offer insider tips and tricks, plus helping you maximize your time with your family to experience what matters most to you!

What You Need to Know about Walt Disney World’s Reopening

We stayed onsite for the reopening of the Walt Disney World theme parks. There are so many things we want to share with you. First, my walk down Main Street U.S. A. in Magic Kingdom was overwhelmingly emotional. The cast members clapped us in the park like a pep rally and shouted welcome back and welcome home. Being a part of this was truly Magical and heartfelt! If you want to view those videos, click here!

Here are the most important things we learned:

Face Masks are required in all areas of Walt Disney World, including the resorts. You can stop to eat or drink and remove your mask as long as you are social distancing. Find a spot away from everyone.
Before entering the theme parks, you must go through the temperature screening tents and have your temperature checked.
You can leave the park and come back in the same day. However, you will have to have your temperature checked each time you return. Remember, no park hopping is allowed at this time.
Security checkpoints are different. Currently, the only thing you place in the bins are umbrellas, metal drink containers, and aerosol cans. Everything else you keep on you and walk through the screening point.
You scan your Magicbands but you do NOT use the finger scanner anymore.
Check your park maps for “relaxation stations” in each park. These are mask free zones and are cool comfortable areas to take a break.
There are hand sanitizer dispensers throughout each park, plus at the entrance and exit of attractions and shows.
Be patient please. They must stop certain attractions and clean them. If you are waiting in line, this is a fast-thorough process. Remember, there are no FastPass+ for rides or attractions currently.
There is only one entrance and one exit at the food courts, attractions, and stores. Follow the flow for safety and physical distancing.
There are Disney PhotoPass photographers. You will have to wear your mask for photos. You will also not receive Memory Maker photos if you remove your mask during any ride.
You MUST use the My Disney Experience app to order food at quick service locations or use the QR code. I find the My Disney Experience app is easiest.
All restaurants, quick service locations, and snack kiosk are running on limited menus. Not all snack and quick service locations are open as well. We will have more on the dining situation in another blog post for you.

We hope this helps all of our great travelers! Let one of our travel designers plan your next Magical vacation! Get your quote here:

Ready to Wear a Mask in the Theme Parks?

We recently visited Universal Orlando because we wanted to share our experience with our clientele. It is not my favorite thing to wear; however, I would wear one to visit the theme parks. Here is what we learned with some tips!

Find a mask that is comfortable to you. You will wear your mask at all times unless you are in your room, dining/eating, drinking, or swimming.
If you plan to wear disposable masks and will be visiting the theme parks multiple days, bring extra. It is hot and the smell is not appealing after a hot day in the parks.
The worst time to be in the parks in a mask is from 1pm to 3pm or whenever it is the hottest time of the day. This is the perfect time for a break!
If a cast member reminds you to wear your mask, please be nice. They are doing their best to ensure the safety guidelines are being followed by all guests. Remember, we are all in this together!
Wear a hat or sunscreen to prevent those crazy mask tan lines.
Keep your face and skin hydrated.
We experienced what I call “phantom mask” at night. You have your mask on all day and feel like your mask is still on, even after you have removed it. This could be irritable for the little ones, so I suggest practicing with them before your trip.
Drink lots of water, staying hydrated is best during the warm summer months in Florida!
Contact us for your next vacation. We are always here working for you!

Tammy Richardson designs vacations for families and couples with a focus on identifying your vacation needs and dreams. At Fairytales and Sunsets Travel, we specialize in the destinations we book and we also research by visiting them.

Click here to discover your next adventure with us!

Disney Vacations

As a Disney travel expert, I want to help you plan the most Magical experience for your family. Walt Disney World is among the most sought out destination among families of all time. There isn’t a time of year that is off limits to the Magic that Disney can offer. The busiest times of year are during the holiday periods, school breaks, summer breaks, and weekends year-round. The least crowded times are during the winter months. These are the best pricing months as well!

Did you know that Disney vacations are more than just Walt Disney World and Disney Land Theme Parks? Disney offers so much more!

Disney Cruise Line
- Caribbean
- Mediterranean
- Northern Europe
- Alaska
- London
- New York
- Southern California
- Barcelona
- Copenhagen
- Rome

Adventures by Disney
- Asia, Africa & Australia
- Central & South America
- Europe
- North America
- River Cruises

Resorts
- Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa – Hawaii
- Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort – South Carolina
- Disney’s Vero Beach Resort – Florida

There is one thing that is for sure, you won’t have a Disney vacation without it being Magical! If you are ready to book your next Disney adventure, call me. I am ready to help you create memories that will stay with your family for a lifetime!