The Best Hot Chocolate Ever (aka, How You Can Consume 27,000 Caloriesin a Weekend While Staying at a Disney Resort's Concierge Level)

I don't know about you, but every Disney trip I've been on is the best diet ever! I go, eat pretty much whatever I want, and then *poof* come back from my vacation 10 lbs lighter. It's amazing! Well, that is, until my last visit, when I came back a pound worse. How does that even happen?

You see, I am a self-proclaimed hot chocolate connoisseur. I love it. I can tell you what brand it is while drinking blindfolded. I have tasted everything from Swiss Miss to Starbucks, to locally-made $12 hot chocolate. On a recent visit however, I discovered the creme de la creme of all hot chocolates. The best cocoa cocktail I've ever tasted!

Staying on the concierge level has many perks, like the time I forgot to pack a toothbrush, and one was there waiting on me, along with toothpaste, which has an amazingly light minty flavor.

Not so overpowering that it knocks you out, and oddly, makes you brush for even longer than usual because it's so mild and refreshing. ((Where was I? Oh yes, hot chocolate.)  Part of the concierge level perks include turndown service, and your own resting place - a locked, limited access lounge area with televisions, refreshments, maps, and a personal concierge available to plan any missed details. In the morning, you'll find breakfast foods on the buffet bar, and in the afternoon you'll find snacks and munchies.

It was there I made what shall forever be known as "the best hot chocolate ever".  The recipe is simple: Take the provided paper pup. Pour in one packet of hot chocolate, plus a tiny bit more from a second packet. Save packet in your purse for your next cup. Go to hot water machine and begin filling cup with hot water. Notice that next to the hot water is a frothy steamed milk spout. Hmmm. Stop water. Start adding frothy steamed milk instead of water. Notice hazelnut syrup bottle. Nuts and chocolate go well together, don't they, Self? Yes, I think they do. Add a splash of hazelnut syrup. Stir. Blow off to cool. Sip. Faint.

Yes, it was that good. I am certain the cocoa itself was rich, but adding the cappuccino milk made it light and fluffy, while the hazelnut syrup adding a different taste altogether. I could have skipped the parks and just made cup after cup of cocoa all day. Just kidding. Who would do that? But I did find myself making a cup each morning before going to the parks, as well as one for the road on the day I left. So there you have it. An alternate reason to stay at the concierge level: the ability to make simply the best hot chocolate ever. Don't say I didn't warn you.

°o° ~ Karen

Top 10 Ways to Announce "We're Going to Disney World" to Your Children

Sometimes, you get to be a famous football star, and upon winning the Superbowl, announce to the universe from deep within the confetti blizzard: "We're Going to Disney World!"

And then there are the other 313,914,040 or so of us who did NOT win the Super Bowl. 

What in the world are you going to do to tell your family? Or do we tell your family? If you don't tell your kids, and they're young enough that they can't spell, you resort to spelling each time you talk with someone about your upcoming trip. "We're going to D-i-s-n-e-y in March. Suzie has a reservation at the C-a-s-t-l-e for breakfast." Sometimes, my travelers and I come up with code words, and even safe words that the parents will say when an unexpected child pops into the closet where the parent is hiding during our call.  (Let me just tell you, that is hilarious when it happens.)  Some of you do tell your children, and in fact, use that as bribery for the next nine months or so. As one client shared "Mickey doesn't let children in who can't be nice to their brothers." Perhaps not, but I can in fact, personally attest to the fact that you can find a time-out corner at Disney World.

So besides bribery and hushery, how would you break the news to your children that you're going to Disney? Here are the top 10 ways to tell (or not tell) your family about their upcoming trip:

10. The Daisy / Countdown Chain. These are fun for littler kids who don't have an exact concept of time. You simply make a paper chain, and for each day that passes, they can pull one ring off the chain. Be forewarned, this method is super fun, but don't be surprised if you catch your tot trying to take two off at once to make the event get here quicker!

9. Goodie Bags/Boxes. Some parents will gather up a collection of Disney goodies and put them in a box addressed to the kids and let them open it. Who doesn't love mail? Even as a grown-up, I love getting paper things in the mail that don't require a response in the form of a check! And if we grown ups love it, you know the kids do too!  I have seen them include everything from a life-size Mickey-shaped balloon, to plush toys, and even Mickey-shaped treats.

8. Phone calls.  Some parents like to involve others in their crimes of deceit. Such as having Cinderella make a very sweet phone call to tell your princess the news, or even having a character send them an invitation.

6. Incorporate the goodies that your travel planner (that would be me, wink, nudge) sends you. You may have a different travel planner - I can't tell you what she'll send you, but I usually send a few goodies for each child, just to get them excited, and it may or may not (wink, nudge) include some of the things in this list!

5. Going TODAY. I recently got so tickled at a client who videotaped her kids from inside their vehicle which was parked in the airport parking lot. The dialogue was a bit like this: "But where's our stuff?" (Peek into package tray area, then wide-eyed shock, then "AHHHHHH!!"

4. Just Got Here. And then there are those of you who can REALLY keep a secret. The kids don't have a clue until you literally pull up in front of your resort hotel. Having done this before myself, I can tell you how we did our trip. We simply packed the kids up in their pj's and said "Buckle up". That was about 9 pm. Next thing you know, they woke up to bright sunshine and asked "Why are we still in these seats?"

3. Lies, Lies, and more Lies. Is it fair to say 99.99% of us have incorporated some little white lie into our vacation plan? From the explanation to why you're getting on a plane, to possible threats of leaving one or more children at home due to behavior unacceptable at the Happiest Place on Earth, to even stretching the truth (just a little) about how far off the trip is, you use your childlike reasoning skills and catlike reflexes to keep sprinkle your own version of pixie dust over your family vacation.

2. Scavenger Hunts. I applaud you! To devise an entire hunt with clues and cards, and hiding places is amazing! 

 But when you end up with a final shot like ((this one)), every second was worth it! (By the way, I think this is my favorite client photo!)

1. The "Family" Trip. Some of you tell your kids very early on! You research together, plan what to wear to each park, and even look online together at your must-do ride list. They are as much a part of the trip as you are, right down to the planning. You are my clients who, at the end of the day, I'm not sure who is more excited, you or them, because as a family you've just had so much fun in this planning process!

As for my hubby and I, we're a number 5, number 4, and okay, maybe number 3 kindof family. We enjoy picking the kids up at school at noon, telling them we're going for a ride and ending up at Disney. (Although the time hubs told the kids we were taking Aunt Char to work (who we also picked up to come with us on that trip) and she worked far away led to them thinking for a few days that she worked at Disney World!) We like covering our ears when they see the first Disney billboard in Florida and realize we are not, in fact, just heading to a Walmart far away because ours is closed. There is no right or wrong answer for each family. What's perfect for you will be perfect for you, and you'll know it when you see it.

As for me, I'm busy plotting how to get a new passport photo made for my hubby without his knowledge so I can surprise my "chief surpriser" with a surprise of his own. Wish me luck!

°o° ~ Karen 

Service Review: Special Dietary Needs

Let's say you're in your hometown about to go out to eat, and someone in your party has a food allergy. What do you do? Bring your own food for them? Limit them to just one or two items to choose from? Or tell them where you're going in advance so they have plenty of time to look at the menu and determine if they should just stay home?

Let me tell you a little about what it's like to eat with Disney and have special dietary needs. You see, I can tell you not because I have special dietary needs, but because I was able to see first-hand the Disney treatment of that type of need.

On a recent trip, I was traveling with Debi, a fellow travel agent. Debi is allergic to nuts. At our first restaurant, Boma, we alerted the hostess staff at the front desk that one of our members had a food allergy. It ends there, right? Wrong!

Next thing you know, we were getting a personal visit from Chef Matt.

Matt was ah-maze-ing! He asked Debi what she was allergic to, and didn't just tell her what she *could* eat, he walked her up to the buffet and pointed every single side dish, main dish, and dessert out to her. And for those dishes that sat really close to a food with nuts on the bar, he brought out her very own dish of that food, specially prepared, and guaranteed to not have any wayward nuts from the dish next to it.

Not to mention he was just a sweetheart! He also stopped back at our table several times - almost as many times as our waiter - just to make sure we were okay and Debi was getting enough to eat.

Now Matt was a gem, for sure, and I thought surely this was special treatment and not all Disney table service restaurants are this way. Au contraire. We ate at Flying Fish the following day.

Again, as we sat down, one of the fabulous chefs from back behind this counter came right out to us, advised Debi of everything she could eat, and then even made something special for her off the menu!

So rest assured if you have special dietary needs, Disney will be sure you do get to eat from their fabulous restaurants, and not have to bring your own food from home! It's just another little-known sprinkle of pixie dust that Disney bestows upon their travelers to make every bit of a vacation truly magical.

Now that you know about this service, if you DO have special needs, please let me know! I can send a special form to the restaurant that lets them know you're coming ahead of time, and they'll already have special items ready and waiting for your arrival, prepared just the way you need them. I'm giving this magical Disney service review five magic wands for service, professionalism, and keeping guest safety number one.