Rachelle- Marvelous Mouse Travels

Unfortunate news out of Universal Studios today... 💔

Halloween Horror Nights was set to celebrate their 30th anniversary this fall. The event was planned to be bigger and better than ever!

Instead, we can, no doubt, expect an absolutely AMAZING event in 2021‼️ I’ll be looking out for ticket sales and be ready to let you know! This is my favorite event every year!

We’ve talked a lot about safety this week... So let’s switch gears and talk about crowds... Because there aren’t any, and it’s WONDERFUL!

Jackson and I visited Magic Kingdom today. If you aren’t familiar with Disney, this is arguably the most popular theme park and houses the most attractions of the four parks (22).

We, again, did not rope drop. We arrived in the park an hour after opening. We took our time today and took a lot of pictures. We also had a very enjoyable 90-minute lunch at Be Our Guest. We arrived at 10:00 and left around 6:00.

I have broken down all of the rides we rode in 6 1/2 hours by:
• Walk On (meaning we did not wait at all),
• 5 Minutes or Less, and
• Between 6-10 Minutes
I will also include the average wait time of the same rides from a year ago on July 23, 2019 for crowd comparison... Prepare to have your mind blown! 🤯
👉🏽Notice the longest we waited for a ride was 10 minutes!!👈🏽

✨6-10 Minutes✨
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (7/19 AWT: 98 minutes)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train twice (7/19 AWT: 122 minutes) 😱

✨5 Minutes or Less✨
- it’s a small world (7/19 AWT: 30 minutes)
- PhilharMagic (7/19 AWT: N/A)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (7/19 AWT: 49 minutes)
- Jungle Cruise (7/19 AWT: 70 minutes) 😱
- Tomorrowland Speedway (7/19 AWT: 49 minutes)
- AstroOrbiter (7/19 AWT: N/A)

✨Walk On✨
- Haunted Mansion twice (7/19 AWT: 54 minutes)
- Barnstormer twice (7/19 AWT: 36 minutes)
- Dumbo (7/19 AWT: 31 minutes)
- Splash Mountain twice (7/19 AWT: 111 minutes) 😱
- Magic Carpets (7/19 AWT: 31 minutes)
- Under the Sea (7/19 AWT: 22 minutes)
- Space Mountain twice (7/19 AWT: 117 minutes) 😱
- Mad Tea Party (7/19 AWT: 19 minutes)

Isn’t this UNBELIEVABLE!?

Wait times are EXTREMELY low right now, and as you can see, so are the crowds. If you are looking for a Disney vacation without waiting in lines for rides or... well... people (😅), reach out to me now! This type of experience will not last forever, and NOW is the time to go!

👀 the cleaning and social distancing also...

Only💲200 deposit to book your Disney vacation! As always, my travel services are free to you!
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Saying 👋🏽👋🏽👋🏽 from ✨Magic Kingdom!✨

It’s just as magical as before! ❤️ & Cinderella’s Castle is getting her 50th anniversary makeover! 😍🏰

We had a great day in Disney’s Animal Kingdom... The crowds and wait times were EXTREMELY low! We rode all 8 rides in 5 hours- most of them, including the extremely popular Flight of Passage, multiple times! The longest we waited for a ride was 10 minutes! 😱 Disney did a great job in regards to safety. If I had to pick a winner between Disney and Universal Studios, US has implemented a few extra practices that would just nudge them above Disney. However, both have done an incredible job making guests feel welcome and safe!

Here’s the Disney highlights:
➖ Whether you are staying on or off-site, you will have your temperature checked at the entrance of the theme park. Very quick process! (Note: if you are staying in one of the Magic Kingdom area resorts, you are checked before your transportation option.)

➖ If you’ve ever been to Disney in the past, you know about the dreaded security check points at the park entrances! They are no more! Everyone walks through metal detectors now, and it is SUPER fast! We didn’t even stop!

➖ If you drive to the theme parks, Disney does not currently have their trams running between the parking lot and park. The only park this could be an issue for would be Magic Kingdom since its parking lot is located further than the others.

➖ The theme parks do have capacity limits. Unlike Universal, staying on-site does NOT guarantee you admission. You must reserve your park passes in advance! Also, park hopping is currently not allowed but will be again in the future.

➖ Masks must be worn at all times. You can only take them off in the “relaxation stations” or while eating or drinking somewhere stationary. They have a lot of cast members located around the parks monitoring this.

➖ They no longer take your finger biometric at the park entrance. Just Mickey-to-Mickey then go!

➖ All attraction queues and areas with large crowds (like the park entrances; see below) practice social distancing. In many of their attraction queues and on some of their rides where families sit close together (like Kilimanjaro Safari), they have plastic shields up!

➖ They even practice social distancing on the rides. For most rides, they will only allow 1 family per row/car AND they seat families in every other row. There were times we were on rides by ourselves!

➖ All cast members that interact heavily with guests wear face shields, which I think is a great safety measure Disney has provided their employees!

➖ Unlike at Universal where you are required to use hand sanitizer before getting on a ride, at Disney, it’s optional. They have hand sanitizing stations before and after rides you can use. But there are also MANY sanitizing/wash stations around the parks, many of them touchless!

➖ I did see some cast members sanitizing heavily used areas like the railing on ride queues and bathroom handles/doors. The one area Universal did much better- Disney did not sanitize ride cars after every family like Universal did. BUT they did have cleaning procedures. On two of the rides, we had to wait to board because it was time to “deeply sanitize the ride.” The process took the cast members about 5 minutes, and they heavily sanitized any area guests touched including screens, lap bars, seats, handles, lockers, etc.

➖ There are “Relaxation Stations” where you can take off your masks for a break.

➖ They highly encourage mobile food ordering from the My Disney Experience app! This keeps lines minimal at the quick service locations around the park! Super easy to do too!

😷 Masks were, again, a non-issue. It was overcast most of the day, so this probably helped since the heat was never unbearable.

The reality is, this type of Disney experience will not last forever... 🤷🏽‍♀️ The low crowds, wait times, and pre-planning. On the flip side, this Disney experience will not be for everyone... Some families look most forward to the character meet-and-greets, nighttime entertainment, and events.

But if you want a low-stress Disney vacation with no crowds, incredible dining options that are typically hard to find (there are also a few modified character dining options being offered!), and the opportunity to ride ALL of the attractions in a single day while still enjoying the atmosphere and experience (and maintaining your patience and sanity 😬), this is your time to go! ✨

As always, I’d love to help you plan your 2020 or 2021 (through September 26th) Disney vacation! Only 💲200 deposit and free cancellation or modification within 30 days of travel!

Tomorrow... I’ll be #home in Magic Kingdom! 🏰

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🌿Guess where we are adventuring today?🌿

We had a FANTASTIC experience in Universal Studios today! This is not just me saying that... I’m being VERY honest! As a mother, annual passholder, and agent, I was HIGHLY impressed with US’s new theme park practices!

Here’s the highlights:
➖ If you are staying at a resort on-site, just go down to your lobby, bus stop, or water taxi to have your temperature checked. You will be given a wristband. Every day has a different colored wristband. This wristband prevents you from being retested at the theme parks. (See pictures)

➖ If you are not staying on-site, you will be temp checked at the transportation hub before entering CityWalk.

➖ The theme parks do have capacity limits. If you are staying on-site, you are GUARANTEED admission! Crowds are EXTREMELY low right now! We rode 18 rides today in 8 hours and the longest we waited was 15 minutes around 3:00 for Skull Island: Reign of Kong!

➖ Masks must be worn at all times. Unlike Disney, Universal will let you take your mask off while walking if you are eating or drinking.

➖ All attraction queues and areas with large crowds (like the park entrances; see below) practice social distancing. The stores try, but for some of the smaller ones, it’s hard.

➖ They even practice social distancing on the rides. For most rides, they will only allow 1 family per row/car AND they seat families in every other row. There were times we were on rides by ourselves!

➖ You are given hand sanitizer before every single ride. There are also MANY sanitizing/wash stations around the parks, many of them touchless!

➖ Like in Disney Springs yesterday, team members are sanitizing EVERYTHING! A few of the cleans I witnessed: Chairs and doorknobs at the restaurant we ate at (Mythos, YUM!), railing in the ride queues (at multiple attractions), railing outside at some of the quick service locations, doorknobs on some of the stores, the lap bars on attractions, the lockers outside Hagrids, benches and outdoor tables, the counters after I paid for my merchandise, and the entrance and exit stations! & This is just what I personally witnessed!

➖ Team members do have paper masks on hand if you lose yours or it gets wet and you need a replacement! Just ask!

➖ There are U Rest Areas where you can take off your masks for a break.

➖ Characters are still available for picture and selfie opportunities (see pictures)! We saw many “parades” with characters and they were interacting with the crowd from a distance! I think I saw more characters today than I did pre-covid!

➖ They highly encourage mobile food ordering from their Universal app! This keeps lines minimal at the quick service locations around the park! Super easy to do too!

➖ All complimentary transportation (shuttles and water taxis) practices social distancing by blocking off seats and they sanitize the seats after every group leaves!

In all, we just visited Universal back in February and honestly, there is no comparison. This trip just knocked it out of the park for us. I thought the new practices and masks in the heat would be too stifling from what we are used to... But Universal did an incredible job implementing everything! We felt safe. They were never “in your face” about the rules, very professional. Everyone was super kind and happy. The crowds and wait times were extremely low (walk on Hagrids three times? Yes please!). Everything was clean! Honestly, I felt safer here than walking inside Wal-Mart... SWEAR. 👈🏽 This is the momma talking, not the travel agent.

And the masks? Jackson never once complained about them, and I honestly forgot I was wearing one. They became a non-issue, even with the heat, for us!

This is the time to visit! Universal Studios has stepped up their game to make you feel both safe and welcome in their theme parks! AND you just can’t beat these crowds! Just look at the pictures... Most of these were taken midday! ⤵️

Only 💲50/person deposit to book your 2020 or 2021 vacation!

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Hagrids (twice) 🏍
Flight of the Hippogriff 🎢
Jurassic Adventure 🦖
Ripsaw Falls 💣
Amazing Adventure of Spider-Man 🕸
Despicable Me 🍌

All in less than 2 hours! Zero crowds! We haven’t waited for a ride yet and it’s 11:00!
THIS. IS. THE. TIME. TO. VISIT! Only 💲50/person deposit to book!

Now off to Universal Studios to visit our favorite alien!

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Let’s talk ✨Disney Springs✨:

We felt very safe tonight and really enjoyed our night shopping and eating in Disney Springs. Here are some of the safety policies and procedures they have put in place around the popular area:

➖ Driving guests are directed to the 2 parking garages. No surface parking is allowed for now.
➖From the garage, you are funneled to an entrance where you have your temperature checked before entering Disney Springs. SUPER quick.
➖ Resort guests on the complimentary shuttles have their temperature checked as soon as they depart the shuttle.
➖ Masks are required at all times while moving.
➖ Hand sanitizer stations are everywhere, and we never ran into an empty one!
➖ Cast members are constantly cleaning all of the public surfaces, especially tables, chairs, doorknobs, and railing.
➖There are arrows on the ground directing traffic and A LOT of markers on the ground reflecting 6” social distancing, especially at locations that may have lines (both pictured).
➖ Retailers have capacity limits within their stores. If the store is at capacity, you must wait outside while maintaining socially distancing. You must have your mask on inside at all times.
➖ The restaurants and bakeries seem to be handling practices differently based on their operations. We ate at Homecomin’, and they had contactless menus! We just scanned the barcode on the table and the menu was brought up on my cellphone! Very cool! Whereas at Amorette’s, all operations were as normal with the exception of the separate entrance/exit and capacity limits inside.
➖ All locations have separate entrances and exits for guests, so we never once ran into someone going the opposite direction!
➖ All cast members wore masks!
➖ Crowds were very low (as you can see in the pictures of the restaurants)... It was very nice to walk around without the crowds!

Overall, a very pleasant experience! I, personally, hate wearing masks outside, so I’m adjusting... slowly (😅). My child has been handling it better than me... He forgets he even has it on! 🤣 So other than that (again, for me), we had a great night in Disney Springs! Never once felt unsafe or like anything was not cleaned properly!

Tomorrow, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure! 🌍🎢

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Check out our views for the week! 👀 ⤵️

📍Cabana Bay Beach Resort
Volcano Bay View

Probably my new favorite room on Universal property! 😍 We just got here about 2 hours ago, and Universal has made us feel super welcome and safe! Excited to highlight Disney and Universal Studios and the new protocols they have put in place for you with our safety in mind!

Tonight, Disney Springs! ✨

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Hello, everyone! 😊

I’ve had many new friends join me on my page, so I wanted to reintroduce myself!

I’m Rachelle, a Master Planner with Marvelous Mouse Travels! I recently celebrated the start of my fourth year as a travel advisor! I absolutely LOVE to travel and greatly enjoy helping families make memories together! ❤️

Some places I’ve visited in the past year:

🇮🇹 Italy with Adventures by Disney
🏰 Walt Disney World (3 times)
🌍 Universal Studios (2 times; Halloween Horror Nights addict!)
☀️ Bahamas (Sandals- Royal Bahamian)
🛴 Salt Lake City
🎭 New Orleans

My son and I actually leave for Disney/Universal Studios again on Sunday! Besides travel, I enjoy football (#coltnation), everything Fall/Halloween, binging TV shows, and exercising! I have also worked in higher education (and loved every minute!) for 6 years and am currently in between jobs (🤞🏽), as my husband and I are moving next month! 😬

Please consider my FREE services when you are planning your next vacation, honeymoon, bachelor/bachelorette trip, family reunion, getaway, destination wedding and more! ⁉️How to help my small business without purchasing anything⁉️

➡️ Comment on my posts.
➡️ Share my page or posts with your friends.
➡️ Tag and/or refer me to friends.
➡️ ❤️ or 👍🏽 my posts.
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I have greatly enjoyed booking new vacations and rescheduling cancelled vacations these past couple of months! I look forward to helping ✨YOU✨ in the future!

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📧 [email protected]

I cannot WAIT to be #home next week!

✨We decided to add an Animal Kingdom day to our vacation because of the low crowds!✨

Look at these midday wait times!! 👀

FIVE minutes for Flight of Passage and TEN minutes for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train- these rides typically average 90 minutes or more! 😱

Who needs FastPasses!!!!?

If you aren’t interested in character meet-and-greets (they have done an incredible job with character parades in all the parks!) or fireworks, THIS is the time to visit Disney! You will NEVER experience these wait times EVER again in your lifetime. Only 💲200 deposit! FREE cancellation up to 30 days from your travel date!

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❄️Christmas in July❄️

Christmas in Branson, Missouri is an annual tradition that you do not want to miss! This amazing city fully embraces holiday cheer and brings some of the greatest shows, light displays, and activities to celebrate the season. There are so many awesome Christmas activities planned for 2020, so be sure to visit!

Chateau on the Lake Resort, Spa and Convention Center shows off their Christmas spirit from December 2-December 25 by displaying beautiful holiday décor and lights throughout the resort. Walk outside your door and enjoy the magic of the season by making ornaments, caroling by the fire or watching holiday movies. 🎶🎄 This resort also features an indoor pool, 2 restaurants, 2 bars/lounges, and full-service spa!

Chateau on the Lake Resort Spa and Convention Center
December 17-21, 2020
Family of 4
Mountain View Rooms (2 Queen Beds)
💲792.10
Includes resort fee of $25/night.

$0 deposit; Free cancellation before December 15!

Flights and car can be added.

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