Cast Member’s Corner: New Year’s Resolutions at Disney

With the New Year rung in everyone is making New Year’s resolutions.  Some people looking for new routines, new heath benefits, setting new goals, looking for a new number on the scale, or a newer you.  Most New Year’s resolutions make it a month or two, unless you are very determined, unlike me, and were one of the few who succeeded in your New Years resolution.  Why not make a Disney New Year’s resolution this year?  This resolution may actually stick this time around and be a fun one to accomplish.  This year why not spice up your trip to Disney with doing something new?  Try one of Disney’s many tours or one of the excursions at their Vero Beach or Hilton Head Resorts.

Walt Disney World has multiple tours that take you behind the scenes to show you how Disney does it.  They give you history and a one of a kind experience that you otherwise would not get a glimpse of.  While I was working at Disney I was able to go on a tour with my sister in Animal Kingdom.  There are many different Animal Kingdom tours but we did the Wild by Design tour.  We met up with our tour guide at the park entrance and were taken not only through the park but also behind the scenes.  We were able to see where the elephants and giraffes were housed when they were not in the park for the guests to see as well as a special ride through the safari.  Although we didn’t get up close and personal with many animals it doesn’t mean you can’t. 

Disney has a list of tours ranging in price and experiences.  Not all of them are in the parks either.  Be careful though, some tours are only offered during certain times of the year, specifically during the holiday season.  If you’ve never done a tour at Disney before, there’s one for you and your family.  Disney makes it really easy to find one too.  Just go on the Disney site or give them a call.  You can narrow down the search by picking whether it’s a tour, sporting event, cruise, or holiday event.  You can even decide whether you want to make new friends with the animals, get behind the scenes, or even search through what’s new.  If you have a range of ages in the family Disney or your friendly travel agent can help you decide what tours are best for those age groups as well. 

Now if this year you’re looking for a completely different type of Disney experience and are planning to go to Vero Beach or Hilton Head Disney Resorts you can still do something a little different while you’re there as well.  At Disney’s Vero Beach Resort you can go kayaking beside manatees.  I did this with my father one year while we were there.  Although we did not see the manatees (they are wild animals and don’t appear on command) it was still a lot of fun.  With our guide we got to paddle out to an island where we had a snack before heading back.  Be prepared for half a day of paddling though.  Meanwhile another option at Vero Beach could be taking an early morning stroll on the beach searching for turtle tracks and nests.  We were able to catch up with one of the groups taking a stroll and learn about the turtle nests and see two baby turtles make the long trek out to the sea.  Hilton Head Resort does similar excursions and some different ones too.   One that looks especially fun is a day trip out at sea to go dolphin watching!  Depending on the excursion or activity it may or may not cost some money.  However just ask the Cast Member’s at the desk about it and they’d be more than happy to give you all the information you need.

So whether it’s a tour at one of the Disney properties or an excursion at one of Disney’s beach resorts, try something new this year.  If you’re still going strong with your weight loss and health goals for a New Year’s resolution Disney properties also have fitness rooms or a wonderful backdrop to run through.  So why not make, and keep, a fun New Year’s resolution this year and enjoy a new experience while on your Disney vacation.  Until next time, have faith and trust, and may your New Year’s resolution be kept with some pixie dust.

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Jess was born and raised on Long Island, New York but once college began so did her adventures. She’s lived in Florida, Wisconsin, and now South Carolina. Her family is part of the Disney Vacation Club and has been visiting since she was a little girl, and continuously goes every year. Besides being a big Disney fan she has also been a Disney Cast Member working in Magic Kingdom, and she counts it as one of the most magical experiences. She worked with everyone’s favorite elephant Dumbo, Cinderella’s Carousel, and Mickey’s Philharmagic. Jess has also visited Disneyland, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, and gone on two Disney Cruises. She has so many great memories from Disney besides running half marathons and 5ks, birthday parties, and family reunions. If asked where she would want to go it is almost always Disney, and when asked why, it is almost always because she can eat awesome gluten free food! And it doesn’t hurt that there is always faith, trust, and pixie dust with magic in the air!

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