Kelly at Pure Magic Vacations

Bluey and Bingo have arrived at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, and if your kids have been asking about this one, here is what you need to know before you go.

Bluey's Wild World is located at Conservation Station inside Rafiki's Planet Watch, which means you will board the Wildlife Express Train to get there. Factor that into your day because the train ride itself is part of the experience, not just the getting there.
The experience itself is not a traditional posed photo line, and honestly, that is what makes it special. Kids get to play Keepy Uppy and Magical Asparagus, dance alongside Bluey and Bingo, and fully step into that world instead of waiting for a quick handshake and a photo. Character time is woven throughout rather than rushed. For young kids, especially the ones who live and breathe Bluey, this is going to land differently than a standard meet and greet.

While you are there, Jumping Junction is right next door and features kangaroos and wallabies native to Australia. If your family loves the animal side of Disney's Animal Kingdom Park, do not skip it.

If you are planning a summer Walt Disney World Resort trip and want help building a day that actually works for your family, send me a message and we will figure it out together.
📧[email protected]

We had never been to Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park until last summer. We have been to Walt Disney World Resort more times than I can count and somehow the water parks kept getting bumped.

Then we used our complimentary water park day that comes with staying onsite. Miss L and Miss E found the wave pool and did not leave it. I had to physically remove them. There was negotiating involved.

We are going back this summer and the wave pool is already non-negotiable.
If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel between May 26 and September 8, this benefit is available to you right now, and it returns for the same dates in 2027.
Link in bio if you want help building a trip that fits your family.

Until last summer, we had never been to Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park.
We have been to Walt Disney World Resort more times than I can count, and somehow the water parks kept getting bumped for one more theme park day. Then we used our complimentary water park day that comes with staying onsite, and I do not know what took us so long.

Miss L and Miss E found the wave pool and did not leave it. The waves are real, the kind that knock you around if you are not paying attention, and my girls thought this was the greatest thing that had ever happened to them. I had to physically remove them when it was time to go. There was negotiating.

We are going back this summer and the wave pool is already non-negotiable.
If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel between May 26 and September 8, this benefit is available to you right now, and it returns for the same window in 2027.
That complimentary day is one of the benefits I love most about booking onsite, and a day in the water in a Florida summer is not a small thing. The inquiry form is in the first comment if you want help building a trip that fits your family.

Until last summer, we had never been to Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park.

We have been to Walt Disney World more times than I can count, and somehow the water parks kept getting bumped for one more theme park day. Then we used our complimentary water park day that comes with staying onsite, and I do not know what took us so long.

Miss L and Miss E found the wave pool and did not leave it. The waves are real, the kind that knock you around if you are not paying attention, and my girls thought this was the greatest thing that had ever happened to them. I had to physically remove them when it was time to go. There was negotiating.

We are going back this summer and the wave pool is already non-negotiable.
If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel between May 26 and September 8, this benefit is available to you right now, and it returns for the same window in 2027.
That complimentary day is one of the benefits I love most about booking onsite, and a day in the water in a Florida summer is not a small thing. The inquiry form is in the first comment if you want help building a trip that fits your family.

Twenty-four days until we fly, and one of the best decisions we make every single trip happens the night before we even leave.
We book a hotel near the Calgary International Airport because we live 45 minutes away and we like to take a morning flight.

I know it sounds like an extra expense for not very much payoff. But here is what it actually buys us: ee do not have to load the car in the dark and wake the kids in the middle of the night to make the drive to the airport. We do not arrive at the gate already exhausted before the vacation has started.

Instead, we drive to the hotel the evening before, drop our bags, swim, eat, and just exist. The girls know we are going. It feels like vacation has already started. There is something about being away from home, even just 45 minutes away in an airport hotel room, that signals to everyone's nervous system that our vacation has actually started.

For our family specifically, that transition matters. Getting kids (and a mom) with ADHD from the routine of home to the sensory reality of a busy airport goes a lot more smoothly when we've all had a good night's sleep. We wake up calm. We have time. Nobody is rushing.

It is not glamorous. But it is one of the small, specific things that makes the rest of the trip better, and I will keep doing it every time.

If your family flies out earlier in the day and you have never tried this, I genuinely recommend it. The vacation starts earlier than you think.

Staying on property at Walt Disney World is my first recommendation for most families, and I mean that genuinely. The convenience, the immersion, the ability to get back to your resort when someone hits their limit, it is hard to beat. But it is not the only right answer, and part of what I do is help families figure out which option actually fits their trip.

Some families want a home base where they can visit the theme parks and still have extra space, a car in the parking lot and a full itinerary that goes beyond the parks. Some families need more space than a standard hotel room offers. And some families just know that off property stay is what they want, and they need someone who can help them find the right one.

Our family has stayed in a lot of off property hotels over the years, vacation home rentals too when we have traveled with a larger group, and I would not recommend a property to a client that I would not feel comfortable staying at with my own family. This summer we are heading back to TownePlace Suites Flamingo Crossings for a few nights before heading to our Walt Disney World hotel. This particular hotel is located right at the edge of the Walt Disney World Resort area, a property we have stayed at before and love for the way our family travels.

When a family comes to me trying to decide between on property and off, I ask them questions. What matters most to you on this trip? What does your ideal day actually look like? Are you theme park focused or are you building a bigger vacation around the parks? The answers shape everything, and finding the right fit is one of my favourite parts of this job.

If that sounds like the kind of help you are looking for, I would love to be your advisor for this trip.
Send me a message or email [email protected] and let's create the best vacation plan for your family.

Travel Without Limits: The questions I ask a neurodivergent family before I start planning their Walt Disney World trip

Before I build a single thing on a Walt Disney World Resort itinerary for a family with a neurodivergent child, I ask questions. A lot of them. And they are probably not the questions you are expecting.

I do not start by asking how many days you want to spend at the parks, or which resort you are interested in, or whether you want to do a character dining experience. Those conversations happen, but they come later.

I start by asking about your child.
What does a good day look like for them? Not a great day, not a perfect day, just a good one. What are the conditions that make a good day possible? What are the things that reliably derail it?

What is their relationship with noise? With crowds? With waiting? With unexpected changes to the plan?
What time of day are they at their best? Because that answer shapes everything about how I build the theme park schedule.

How do they handle transitions between activities? Between environments? Between the energy of a theme park and the quiet of a hotel room?
What has travel looked like for your family before? What worked? What did not? What do you wish had been different?

I ask these questions because a Walt Disney World Resort trip has a thousand variables, and the only way to manage those variables in a way that actually serves your child is to understand your child first. The theme parks, the resorts, the dining, the experiences, all of it gets built around the answers to these questions.

I truly believe every family deserves a vacation that actually works for their child, full of moments they will talk about for years. The planning is how we get there.
If this sounds like the kind of planning conversation you have been looking for, send me a message. I would love to start asking you the right questions.

If you love the idea of a quieter, more grown-up resort that still keeps Disney Springs at your doorstep, Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa belongs on your list.

It borrows its soft, Victorian feel from the historic upstate New York spa and horse-racing town, all pastels, florals, and an unhurried pace you do not get at every Walt Disney World resort.

Here's the part families overlook. Saratoga Springs sits right on the Sassagoula River, so you can boat over to Disney Springs for dinner and shopping, or just walk there on the Disney Springs walking paths. Very few resorts give you that easy, on-foot access, and it is a game changer on the nights you do not feel like wrangling buses. As a Disney Vacation Club resort, the villas also give families room to spread out and reset after a long park day.

Picturing a quieter, more spacious Walt Disney World stay? Send me a message and let's talk through whether this is your match. 💌

I want to know: what is your family's absolute non-negotiable on a Walt Disney World Resort trip?

The thing that, if it did not happen, the trip would not feel complete. Maybe it is a specific ride you do every single time. Maybe it is a meal that has become a tradition. Maybe it is watching the fireworks from a particular spot, or a snack you cannot leave the theme park without.

For our family, there are a few things that have made it onto the non-negotiable list over the years, and honestly that list has evolved as the girls have gotten older and started having more opinions of their own. The items that remain on the list year after year are: a character meal, shopping at Disney Springs, pizza at our hotel on check-in day, riding the Skyliner Gondola, at least 1 visit to the Character Warehouse, and a monorail ride through EPCOT.

Drop yours in the comments. I genuinely love reading these.

We are 29 days out from our flight to Orlando and I have approximately fourteen browser tabs open at any given moment.

This is normal for me. This is, in fact, how my brain works best, which is something I understand a lot better now (thank you adult ADHD diagnosis).
Hyperfocus on a thing I love is genuinely one of my superpowers, and planning a Walt Disney World Resort trip for my family is the thing I will hyperfocus on above almost anything else.

Miss L and Miss E already have opinions about every meal. Miss E has asked me three times this week which water park we are doing on our first check-in day (we're doing a split stay so we get 2 complimentary water park visits). Miss L has a list. I also have a list. Our lists overlap in some places and conflict in others, and I love that about us.

We are also coming off a full competition dance season, with recital still ahead of us, which means I have been planning this trip in the margins of a very full life. In the parking lot of the dance studio while I wait. On my phone at 11pm after everyone is in bed.

The honest truth is that I am my own client. I plan our family's trips the same way I plan trips for the families I work with: with more detail than most people think is necessary and a genuine belief that the right preparation is what makes the magic actually land.

Twenty-nine days. I cannot wait!

If your family has been thinking about a Walt Disney World Resort trip and you are not sure where to start, send me a message. The planning is my favourite part.