Monday Check-In!

Troll Pub Under the Bridge - Louisville KY

Good morning, my friends! I'll have the monthly roundup of promotions for you next week, but I do want to make sure you know that there was a TON of Epic Universe news this past week, including single day tickets, Epic Express Pass, and VIP tours available now! Plus, you may have seen that Walt Disney World also released a ton of promotions last week, especially for kids. (Remember when they used to push Kindermoons?) There are so many new offers that I highly recommend not wasting time trying to figure it out yourself. Let me know your available dates & party, and I'll figure out the best offer for you. Feel free to email me or use my quote form!

Today I just want to touch base and check in with everyone. This blog gets emailed to less than 100 people, and I feel like I've gotten to know many of you from planning your trips or talking about your future trips. I even travel WITH a lot of you! I'm taking a break from socials, except for BlueSky, so I haven't been seeing anyone's posts. So, how are things? Most of you have come to me because you know I'm a safe and inclusive agency. All are welcome here (and LOVE IS UNIVERSAL)! I know a lot of you are feeling uncertain about travel right now, and I just want to tell you that you're not alone. Our family is also holding off on, or rearranging, travel this year, for several reasons, including that Disney's DAS program is still discriminating against folks with true disabilities, even the autism they claim it is meant for. Disney Parks aren't a great fit for my kid right now, but we are still going on another Disney Cruise this month! We know Disney will find their way back to inclusivity for all.

Some of you have probably known me long enough that you remember my old blog, Craves, Caves, & Graves. (There are a lot of dead links there these days, but back in the day it was part of the Niantic Field Trip app, which evolved into Ingress, Pokemon Go, Wizards Unite, Pikmin Bloom, etc.) I'm a huge fan of roadside Americana, and I became a travel agent because I love traveling and wanted an additional way to share our off the beaten path adventures. I ended up being very focused on Disney/Orlando just because it makes sense to me, and I can help people who find it overwhelming. CC&G wound down when Lilly was born, and then COVID happened, and by the time we could get back to regular travel, our back-up car had aged to the point where the entire family dreaded having to use it for a road trip. (We have a Nissan Leaf for getting around town.) We have rented a car or taken Amtrak for Irish dance feis the past couple years, but we miss all those places we used to drive to on the weekends! So, as much as I would love to be at Epic Universe the week that it opens, this month we opted to buy a Chrysler Pacifica PHEV so we could get back to road tripping in style! Now, I know that if you are like us and trying to save some money this year by road tripping or staycationing, you're not likely to think of your favorite travel agent. I get it, you do not need me to book your Courtyard by Marriott (I can, just FYI). But do you know about Viator? This is a great site for finding activities all over the world, including in your own town! For example, when I look at St Louis - one of the cheapest cities to visit btw - I see gastronomy tours, true crime tours, haunted tours, self-guided tours, escape rooms, and more. The best part about Viator is that you can use my link (it's always on the menu of my website) so that you have help if you need it, PLUS I often get coupon codes that are exclusive to my agency, PLUS you can stack that with sites like Rakuten, ID.me, Rapid Rewards Shopping, Capital One Shopping, Citi Shop (you have all these browser plug-ins, right?) It's a win-win-win to save money on travel this summer! Drop me a line to let me know what you're up to this summer! I'd love to hear about your plans!