Parkside Breaks

From Skeptic to Superfan: How One Trip to Disneyland Changed Emily's Mind

• Sarah Graves

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We're so back. Thanks for listening to our first episode back with a new name, Parkside Breaks. For our first episode we introduce our guest, Emily Dostie from Glass Slipper Concierge. We follow along with her as she reviews her trip to Disneyland. We break down why the West Coast parks feel calmer, kinder, and more walkable—and how that shift turns a packed itinerary into a truly luxurious experience. Think: direct hotel-to-park access at the Grand Californian, characters actually roaming, lighter Lightning Lane pressure, and mornings that don’t start in a sprint.

We compare the energy of Disney California Adventure to Hollywood Studios, gush over the length and thrill of the Incredicoaster, and get honest about Guardians of the Galaxy vs Tower of Terror. Cars Land glows like a memory you get to step into, and seasonal overlays—like Haunted Mansion’s Nightmare Before Christmas—show how Disneyland layers charm without adding chaos. Oogie Boogie Bash wins points for balance: sold-out party, but breezy lines, organic character moments, and candy trails that keep things moving.

Pulling back, we map smarter ways to travel across the Disney universe. VIP Tours that prioritize presence, Disney Cruise Line’s expanding ports for easier access beyond Florida, and curated Adventures by Disney that erase planning friction across Europe, Africa, and the American West. For the explorers at heart, National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions offer small-ship journeys to the Galápagos, Antarctica, and Iceland, guided by conservation and storytelling. Our takeaway is simple: luxury at Disney isn’t just a price point—it’s less stress and more time together.

If you loved this, tap follow, share it with a Disney friend, and leave a quick review. Tell us: what’s your one guaranteed ride and one guaranteed treat on your perfect Disney day?

SPEAKER_01:

Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. We are so excited to be here with a brand new name, Partside Breaks. Same love for all things Disney Travel, Disney Parks, Disney Cruise Line, Disney just anywhere you're gonna go. And there's a Disney uh little touch. So we're here for all of us. If you've been following along since the beginning, thank you for sticking around with us. And if you're new here, welcome. This is a place where we chat about the magic, the memories, and all the little things that go into making a Disney vacation uh so special and magical. This week we're kicking things off with our friend Emily. She is a travel advisor with Glass Slipper Concierge, and she just got back from Disneyland. She's here to tell us all about what makes Disneyland timeless and charming and really just totally different from Walt Disney World and the experience there. So we'll talk about what surprised her, what she loved the most, and why she thinks Disneyland is still just capturing um hearts after all these years. So sit back and relax or enjoy your ride or your run and let's go ahead and talk about the happiest place on earth. We are back. We are so back. After a year, hiatus. After a year, how does that feel? Well, I feel older.

SPEAKER_02:

Are you 40 yet, Elizabeth? I'm still not 40. I'm 40. I turned 40 this year. You turned 40 this year. We got right. We got you good. We got you good on no surprise.

SPEAKER_01:

That was tough. That was a tough. I did not expect 40 to hit the way it did. Well, I'm gonna tell you 37, my knees hurt all the time.

SPEAKER_02:

So just don't know what 40 is gonna hold for me, but everything's fine. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, we are back. It's Sarah and Elizabeth. And we have a special guest today. I'm so excited. She is gonna be a regular guest, so don't worry. This is not gonna be just a one-time thing. Our guest is drumroll, please. Drumroll, please. All right, Emily. That was a big lead up.

SPEAKER_02:

I know I'm so happy to be here because we're a fresh set of drums. Thanks for having me. We're so glad you're here. Thank you for bringing us cookies. They were great. Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_01:

If you live in San Marco, in the San Marco area of Jacksonville, you need to go to Cookie Fix. Oh my gosh. What was the favorite one that you've had so far?

SPEAKER_02:

I knew you were gonna ask that. I think that it was that apple one that wasn't an apple, the cinnamon one. It was like cinnamon and chocolate. It was great. It tasted like chocolate apple pie.

SPEAKER_00:

Was it the chunky mama? It had a little coconut in it, too. I love that. I love a chunky mama. Yeah. Yesterday, their opening day, I had um brown butter pecan.

SPEAKER_02:

That was my favorite. I love that.

SPEAKER_00:

Brown butter pecan.

SPEAKER_02:

Can't wait to go back.

SPEAKER_01:

I know. And then it wasn't there. Uh do they have like a special cookie every day? They have a rotation of cookies.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

So I thought you were gonna say they had a rotisserie cookie. That's where I thought we were going with that. There's a Thanksgiving theme. I'm gonna try it.

SPEAKER_03:

It's fine.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh gosh. Um so Emily is um we brought her on to talk to us about this wonderful adventure that she's on. Yes. Would you like to tell us about it, Emily?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Emily, tell us how you got to the place you are today with your new adventure. Um, give us a little background about Disney and how much you love it. Background.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, and who doesn't love Disney and the magic? Um Scott Branick. It's so true. It's so sad. I feel like now my mission is gonna be to turn him.

SPEAKER_02:

I'll see you on fall break.

SPEAKER_00:

Um so I've been a stay-at-home mom and dabbling in part-time jobs here and there, and just a really heart and desire to go back to work. Um but I wanted to do it in a way that brought me joy. And so I did old school like pen to paper brainstorming of listing out what brings me joy, what where are my values, what could be work that doesn't feel like work. And I was on um uh actual similar version adjacent to Disney, but travel and um exciting things. And I was on that road of like making a business plan and doing all these things. And then I started planning a Disney trip for the summer, and I got really into it for yourself, for our family, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

And wait, I'm sorry, can you please give us a quick rundown of your family dynamics so we can understand your mindset?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. So, husband who um is not Scott Brannick, he does enjoy Disney. He's so good. Well, I also think he enjoys it because I wanted him to, and I know you try really hard to do this with Scott, but I really curate our trips that he attends to be like they're food centric. Yeah, I give up.

SPEAKER_02:

They're easy. I give up when Scott Scott's hard to please. I'm not trying anymore. Thank God.

SPEAKER_00:

I think about where we're staying. Yeah, uh, he he we only stay certain places when he's involved.

SPEAKER_02:

I probably could have done better with that, but like wasn't worth it.

SPEAKER_00:

You're gonna stop staying at the cabin so much. Oh, so and then two teenagers, two high schooler girls, and then a fifth grade boy. Okay. Uh I'm gonna shout out Leighton Nell and Fitz. I love that. I love those people. They're good people. Those are they're fun kids, longtime listeners.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, but my favorite shout out. I know.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, which was the highlight. I believe it. So you guys picked for your summer vacation to go to do Disney big, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, we we decided we are gonna do uh Disney in a different way than we've ever done. We stayed at a resort we've never stayed at, and we decided to make it a more resort vacation. Um, so the Grand Floridian has a spa. We made spa appointments for the girls. We decided we were not going to go crazy with rides. We were gonna eat at restaurants we had never eaten at, um, but uh excited, low-key resort, hang out by the pool, do the spa, be um kind of on our own slow schedule.

SPEAKER_02:

So Emily is also a local to Northeast Florida. So the idea of visiting Jackson, I mean of visiting Orlando and visiting Disney is very easy. So this is not like a um, she's not like traveling in from I don't know, well, she's not fine.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and it's not like we have to wait two years to do it again. Yeah, you can do this pretty regularly. And so it's I feel like it's easier when you live so close to just say uh we don't really we don't have to do everything. Yeah, let's just make this a trip where we everybody enjoys each other.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Each other. That is like the biggest thing, and just can have a good time.

SPEAKER_00:

So how long were y'all there? We just did a long weekend, like a Thursday through Sunday. Okay. It wasn't um, it wasn't the it wasn't the amount of time. It was just we wanted it to be relaxing and something special because we were making it our summer thing. So we didn't want it to be our normal Disney experience. Oh well. So we wanted something new and different as a family. No one had ever stayed. Um, I don't know if I said Grand Floridian. We had never stayed there before. Um, we had certainly the girls were so excited. Normal spas don't allow teenagers, you have to be a certain age, but there you have to be 14 or older. So my girls were excited. Oh, that's nice to know. Yeah, it was it was just a special we could do special unique things that we had never done before at Disney. Um, so on one hand, I'm like researching this business plan, right? For a separate travel ideas. Um and then on the other time, I am using, does anyone use Instagram as their Google?

unknown:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Do y'all use Instagram as well? I just have.

SPEAKER_01:

I just started, I I think that you actually told me about it one time and I was like, oh, I've never really tried that. And I started looking up like, I don't know, just random stuff and seeing all kinds of good just products and just plans and things like that.

SPEAKER_00:

It was great. So I just started using Instagram as my Google, getting excited about the resort. And like I said, I didn't know anyone who had done the spa before there, and what were the pools like? And we were going to restaurants we hadn't been to. So I'm researching all these things, and the same it was travel advisors were the main pages that were coming up, um, showing pictures and videos of the different locations I was researching. And it just seemed to be a common, yeah. Did you I just did it?

SPEAKER_02:

I just need everybody to know that I just typed in Grand Floridian on Instagram and I am this is my new life. She is hours per day on Instagram now is gonna go way up.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Yeah, I can't wait to send you everything.

SPEAKER_02:

I went from like royal family scrolls to just sending you everything.

SPEAKER_00:

Sorry. I love it. Well, uh the videos and the pictures that I that I was connecting with all seemed to be from the same women coming from the same travel agency. And I had never really researched Disney travel, Disney travel agents, advisors, anything like that. And so it just kept popping up. And then I'm a very curious person. Very curious. I'm like, well, what is this? And it's glass slipper concierge. Who who is glass slipper concierge? What is what is this? Well, then I just started deep diving. Oh, this is an industry that I had no idea about, and this is um this is exciting. And then I'm looking back at my brainstorming list, and on the things that bring me joy are Disney and travel and memories. And I was like, well, this fits the shoe. And pun intended.

SPEAKER_01:

I have to okay, and I have to interrupt because I can um vouch for this because I remember having a conversation with Emily and she was talking about some of these things. And I was like, when you found Glass Slipper and you told me about it, I was like, was your phone listening to the things that fit the what you would do best, like what you love about Disney, what you love about travel? And when you told me about Glass Slipper, I was like, this is perfect, this is exactly fits everything that you were hoping for.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, yes. And it is a boutique, um, but very high quality and um people focused and providing luxury concierge experiences for Disney adventures. And I love it's luxury redefined, not luxury. Yes, it can be a price tag, but it's not staying club level and in the two-bedroom and VIP tours. It can certainly be that. But what attracted me so much to Glasslippers, luxury is also the experience that you have with the advisor. I have this wealth of knowledge at my fingertips through the agency, uh of who I can be connected with and experiences that I wasn't aware of before researching and going into all the training through Glass Slipper, but one-on-one consultation of planning your Disney adventure so that it's magical for you. It's stress-free, it's enjoyable in going back to like I want my, you want your kids to be happy and you want your husband, like everyone wants to have a good time. You don't want to be stressed about your lightning lanes. You don't want to be stressed about, well, I had no idea where I was staying. That we wanted to be at one park, but we're connected to another one and the travel and the transportation. I think luxury can be for any price range, for any budget, luxury can just be taking the stress and the anxiety over planning the trip to Disney because there are magical moments around every corner at Disney. And there's opportunities for that that we can miss out when we put so much pressure on it being the most amazing vacation.

SPEAKER_01:

And clustering everything in all at once. Yeah. For one trip.

SPEAKER_00:

And we talk a lot about that, Sarah. Yes. Like the beauty of doing Disney at a slower pace, and slow doesn't mean you don't get to do all the things, it's just at a relaxing pace. Yes. And that's where that's where you really hit the jackpot. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, and I feel like the hustle and bustle of Disney, it's very quick, it's very easy for you to get thrown into that like quick, fast pace, like, oh, we're over here. We want to do this. I mean, we talk about this too all the time with my kids. Like they go in and they're like, we want to ride everything. And sometimes we just have to take a step back and be like, pick four things. Right. Just pick four things for today.

SPEAKER_00:

I say this all the time. I tell my kids, I'm not even four things. You're a very generous mom. I know. I give everyone, I give everyone one ride and one food experience. That is what I will guarantee. And anything else is gravy. Yeah. Now they get smart and they tits the tit, almost 11-year-old. Uh, he his food experiences are also the like he's his father, the whining dining, like I want steakhouse 71 for breakfast.

SPEAKER_02:

I thought that you were gonna say that they team up, right? Like, okay, you pick this, you pick that. They're not that smart.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh gosh, yes, you are. I love you.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, they are. You're giving an idea. That's what I would have done. I would have straight manipulated that.

SPEAKER_00:

Elizabeth's gonna be sending messages to the Leighton is always, she never changes uh her food. She's always the uh spring rolls. Oh yeah. That's she's a girl after always spring rolls. The other two, they they change.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, does she do just the cheeseburger spring rolls, or will she go and do the other one that's available? That's right. That's right. That's the right way to do it. So that's the right way.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's what we guarantee, and that's what we pay for. And part of the advantage of living in where we do and being able to go to Disney is accessible. We also don't go and give the children, give the kids a budget that is unlimited of all your snacks and all your things. But she loves the spring rolls so much. She will go to the park if we are staying on a Monreal hotel or um wilderness lodge on a boat. She will go over to the park by herself or with a f you know, with a sister, sibling, or one of us just to get the spring rolls and pay herself. She loves those. Yeah, adopt me. That's an Ashley Draper move.

SPEAKER_02:

That is an option. That is that was a uh I'll be right back. We um that was my childhood, I feel like, but we had walkie-talkies. We didn't have, you know, back in the day. We didn't have walkie-talkies. And we had like the, you know, like the like the legit satellite walkie-talkies because you know, I guess my parents wanted to talk to me. We would do that. They need the range, yeah. They needed the it was the range, yeah. But we would we would do the same thing.

SPEAKER_01:

That's awesome. Not for egg rolls, but definitely for other things, yeah. Okay, so Emily, tell us now you are with Glass Slipper.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Right? And so you just had a big trip, um, which when you told me that you what you were gonna do, I was like, I cannot wait to hear your review about this because you were not a huge, like it wasn't like you wanted to go there that bad um where you ended up going. So tell us about your whole trip. How did it go? What did you do? Why you went on it?

SPEAKER_00:

Why so I joined Glass Slipper and pretty soon after they announce where their annual Disney education um meeting was gonna be, and it was at Disneyland. And I have never wanted to go to Disneyland. I was like, lame, it's small, it's in California. And the thought, the thought living in Florida, the thought of planning a trip to Disneyland seemed so overwhelming to me because obviously you would get there, it would be the same as Disney World, and there would be so many other things that you went all the way there and you didn't experience Southern California, right? It just felt like an overwhelming trip. Um, when there's so many other places I would want to go in life. So, no, I Disneyland was so low on the priority list, but exciting to go with the new and into meet advisors that I work with in person and and and learn about Disney. I was excited about that part, um, but underwhelmed by the idea of Disneyland. But Sarah, I got there. I am a Disneyland convert. Oh my god. I loved it. I wish I knew about it when my kids were younger.

SPEAKER_02:

I need to know start to finish. Like, did you fly in? Did they pick you up? Like, what did you how did you get from the airport to the resort? And what resort did you stay at? Because I'm assuming you stayed on property.

SPEAKER_00:

So I flew in to John Wayne Airport. It was it's closer than LAX, it's about 30 minutes, and uh took an Uber and 21st century. Right. Took an Uber there, um, straight to the Grand Californian is where we were all staying. Fabulous.

SPEAKER_02:

So good.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's like it's like a craftsman's style wilderness lodge, these grand uh lobby.

SPEAKER_02:

Did I know that? I don't. I mean, have you been there? No, heck no, I haven't been there. Like I've like never been outside my box.

SPEAKER_00:

Um I think that I did not expect for you to say that. Yeah, there's a huge fireplace with a fire, uh, the the ceiling very similar to very similar to Wilderness Lodge, but it's like craftsman like more modern. Like um like I would like Grove Park Inn in Asheville. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02:

I've been there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

That's how I would make the connection.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay. I don't know what I think that I was expecting just Grand Floridian, but different. For the groom, California? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I've only seen pictures, and that's why I kind of knew it was. Let me do my new thing. Get on your Instagram Google. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

So tell us. So you get there. So I get there, and it's gonna be an opening night to meet all of the advisors and a dinner and to meet some Disney folks. Um, and it was like I was in sorority rush all over again in terms of I didn't know a person there. I felt imposter syndrome because I'm new to this industry. I've never done anything like this before in my life. And I'm showing up to this welcome dinner and just having to meet people. Everyone was so kind and lovely and inclusive. And all glass slipper people or more just it was just glass slipper, all glass slipper people. So it was wonderful, lovely. Mickey came, took pictures, get to meet Mickey. It was so um, it was a great way to kick off the trip. Uh, one of the best parts about the trip was being solo in a hotel room. I love it. For you to say less. Man, I know. Oh man, that was in the Grand Floridian, it was top-notch. Um they had a piano player in the lobby every day. At the Grand California. At the Grand Californian, sorry. Grand Californian.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. And did they they do that at the Grand Floridian, right? Yes. Okay, yes. Yeah, you're right. This is very like Isn't it nice?

SPEAKER_00:

Wilderness lodge, but it is their absolute. Um the rooms I would not call them, I would not call them dated, but a some advisors chose to stay at one of the other hotels. There's three. I was about to ask that. There's three Disney hotels at Disneyland Resort, Pixar Place, which is all Pixar themed, um, fun, great, theming. If you're looking for that, uh theming hotel rooms. Um, and then there is the Disneyland. Oh gosh, no. That's the Disneyland Hotel. The Disneyland Hotel. That's like the classic one. That's the classic one. That's what I was thinking. Okay. And that one, a lot of advisors chose to stay there. It is newer, uh, refurbished. Um, they have new uh vacate Disney vacation buildings, wings, their their club level just got all redone. It was very nice. It was more modern.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay. Yeah. This Pixar place reminds me of like a it's like they converted a holiday in. Or like a Marriott.

SPEAKER_01:

That is what they did. So they purchased, I mean, look at me, being Elizabeth, you are spot on. Spot on. They purchased another hotel because they needed that. They they just redid it. Um, do you know, you know, because at Disney World we have value, we have moderate, we have deluxe. Do you know, is it like that at Disneyland too with those hotels?

SPEAKER_00:

Since there's only three of them, I I haven't done the research to see if they're labeled that way. Okay. But the Pixar would definitely be value. Okay. What is the other one called? Disneyland Resort Hotel. The Disneyland Hotel.

SPEAKER_01:

That's the original one.

SPEAKER_00:

And then Grand Californian. Grand Californian, I would I would assume Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel are deluxe. I would that was the feel, and we took room tours and suite and club tours of all three locations. And I would say that um the appeal of Grand Californian is are you ready for this one? I feel like Elizabeth is gonna love this part. There is an entrance to I can't don't even say it.

SPEAKER_02:

One of the parks directly from the hotel. Oh my gosh. Did we talk about this or was this was this me with the beat? About the new universal? Yes. That was you, yeah. We talked about this. I you mentioned this because you know the new universal ra no the new universal park has the hotel that you can just go on and I need to know how this is.

SPEAKER_00:

Is that what it's called?

SPEAKER_01:

Helios, yeah, yeah, it's Helios, and that goes right into Epic.

SPEAKER_02:

Um so I can I just love that convenience. Like, that is so fun. Do they close it off? Can you go when like can you like roam the streets? Oh, that's a good question. Like, can you go in? Like, could you go into the Magic Kingdom? I guess it's an entrance. It's not like the door because of the universal one, it is literally like the back door, is the entrance. You I say that like I've been there. That is a that could be a total lie. That's that could be a how I was great at perceives this. What do you mean by roam the streets? Mouse traps. Like, um, can you just go? I mean, like if this hotel, you said what's it called Disneyland Hotel? Because when I know the Grand Californian goes into Disneyland.

SPEAKER_00:

So from the Grand Californian, out of one um area of the hotel goes straight to California Adventure. Okay. So there's two parks. There's the California Adventure and then there's Disneyland. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Which is like your Magic Kingdom.

SPEAKER_00:

Disneyland is like your Magic Kingdom. It has the same uh lands, Fantasy Land, Tomorrow Land, all that. Uh California Adventure is a mashup of everything else. I don't know. It has Is that where Pixar Places or whatever it's called?

SPEAKER_02:

Pixar World.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you like how I'm like it has Cars Land? Cars Land. It's Cars, it has um the Avengers land area.

SPEAKER_02:

All the Marvel stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Is that where the same? The same.

SPEAKER_00:

Is that where the Tower of Terror is? Yes. Yes. It's but like do you know this? No.

SPEAKER_02:

I do not know this. She didn't even need to know the question. I don't even know. She doesn't know. If you're gonna tell me and I know it, I get five dollars.

SPEAKER_00:

Tower of terror? The theme is Guardians of the Galaxy. I knew she was gonna say that. I didn't know that. I did five. Wait, do I get them moving? But the ride, I like our Tower of Terror better at Disney World. Really? Yes, because there's because it's terrifying. She clearly is terrified, terrified person. No, it's it's not terrifying. It's not, it doesn't have the theming. The what do they call the beginning of a ride where the cue? The cue, but also like when you're doing um like the intro. Like the intro. There's no you don't ever move out. You know how like you move out of the elevator and you roam and then you go to a different place, and that's where I wonder if that was how Elizabeth doesn't know because she's closing her eyes throughout the entire time whenever we go on Tower of Terror.

SPEAKER_02:

That's right. I hate this ride so much. There was like an inside insider thing on the Tower of Terror, and my kids made me watch my kids who also have not Lori Ann went on the chicken line for that one. Chicken line for that right, okay. Well, that's appropriate. She is young. I say it in Reddy because I'm like really nice or something. Um, they made me watch it, and I'm like, this is scary, this is not, this is the stuff that keeps me up at night. Yeah, these candlesticks moving in the middle of the night is the stuff that when I wake up at two o'clock in the morning to pee, that is what I see. Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

So there's nothing it's so it's Guardians of the Galaxy in the queue. It's very themed to Guardians of the Galaxy. You get in the contraption, it's not an elevator there, but you get in and you're being transported somewhere else, you immediately start going up and down up to the elevator. I know. I want a whole original lead on top of it. There's no lead up. It's all up, down, up, down, up. Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

I wonder if the original one, like before they moved it around, before they transferred, before they redid it. I wonder if it was like our Tower of Terror or if it was like that. Because you're right, our Tower of Terror, you're you're slowly going up, and then you go onto a ride, and then you go up even further, and then and then you drop to your death.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. To your death. And there's only a few drops at Disney World. This one had multiple drops. Is it at random?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02:

Did you say that there are only a few drops in hours? Because there are more than a few. There's only a few drops. There's no way.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, you're dreaming.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, there's only a few. Nightmare. Nightmare.

SPEAKER_00:

Don't go on the Guardians of Galaxy. So, you know, Tower of Terrors.

SPEAKER_02:

In in hours at Hollywood Studios, it's like you you never get the same drop. Yes. And I think that that's the other thing. And I've told you this. What I don't like is that you never know when you're going to drop. Like it could hold you there for five seconds or two seconds or eight seconds. Like, I need to know when I'm going to drop.

SPEAKER_01:

This is a deep conversation. Yes. Sorry into about control. But that's we can talk about it.

SPEAKER_00:

So it's random, it's random drops. So it's random drops. So the other thing that California Adventure has is the credit coaster. Like, can you picture the um a lot of advertisement for California Adventure is the roller coaster and then the big Ferris wheel with Mickey's face? Yes. The roller coaster is an credit coaster. And it was Is that like the old Ricky? It's supposed to be like an old, but it was not rickety. It was the traditional roller coaster. I'm older than both of you. And these weary bones cannot take rickety roller coaster. But it was amazing. It was long, which I value. Yes. Yes. I value a longer ride, especially one that's of high demand. So you're either playing for a lightning lane or you are waiting in line for a long time. I value length. Right. Uh, it goes upside down, it goes all around. Like it is a thrill ride that's so much fun. I wrote it. It's the only ride on this trip that I rode twice. Oh. Okay. You it was so much fun. Wrote it at night one time. It's a white roller coaster. Yes, white with red. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Um, it was a blast. That's awesome. So much fun. So California Adventure was more um skip. Hollywood studios vibes. Cars Land. If I had. A little boy who loved Carsland. It's so well themed and so well done. It is that what they're bringing? Did they model it after this? Well, not the l, they're not bringing the area. They're bringing the ride.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. It's the whole land is done. Yeah, it's like a smaller version. It's called Piston Peak. That's when it's going to be called up Magic Kingdom. And so I I kind of feel like it's going to be like a miniature version.

SPEAKER_02:

Do they have like the storefronts? Like, do they have what's it called? Yes, that's what I'm saying. Radiator Springs.

SPEAKER_00:

You feel like you're in radiator. Disney does its magic where you you turn down a street and you feel like you're in radiator springs and you're walking down there's the cones. It is amazing. And then I I'm walking down and is it tomato? Yeah. Tomator just starts coming down the street. And it's like I don't know how they do this magic of the electronics of the car, and its eyes are moving and it's talking. And it was so that was Reed's favorite movie. Oh my gosh. It I loved cars. Yes. We've already determined.

SPEAKER_01:

I know we all need to go. Tell us. So so you went there, you know, with Glass Slipper. What else did you all do? Because you got to go to both the parks. Were you doing other things with Disney while you were there?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. So we had trainings during the day, which were so we got to go to the parks, but during the day we were in trainings and got to just learn more and become more familiar and make connections with different Disney products. So you've got your you know Disneyland huge presentation, and it was amazing. I was sold the minute I got there.

SPEAKER_02:

Was it Disneyland, California specific, or was it like Disneyland, Disneyland, Paris?

SPEAKER_00:

Disneyland, California specific. Um VIP tours and how uh they're different there slightly than they are um Disney World. So learning more about that product, Disney cruises. Y'all, there's so many cruises, uh, new ships coming out, new ports that will be so a lot of Disney Cruise excitement. Um, but then wait, can you like tell us one? Am I allowed to ask that?

SPEAKER_02:

What can she tell us?

SPEAKER_01:

Like news, like breaking news about Disney Cruises.

SPEAKER_02:

What they just have a lot more ships coming out. I did hear this, and it's not like just Caribbean ships, right?

SPEAKER_00:

They're doing like more European ships, and not just European, also um ships that will stay in port longer in Galveston out of Texas and San Diego. So right now those are ports that Disney uses, but I don't they're not year-round ports. I don't I'm not familiar with the exact timing, but um I wouldn't say those ports are as friendly as Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale, meaning beauty-wise, those are like cargo shipments, yeah. Okay, that makes sense. Um but it'll just give an opportunity for a lot more travelers, easier access to be on a Disney cruise from that side of the country. Okay. Um, which is exciting. I think another ship or is already. There's now two ships up in Alaska. So there's just some excitement of some of some ships. But then what was so cool, did y'all know that? So you've got adventures by Disney, which would be like your group tours, right? If you as a family want to go, maybe your kiddos are getting into high school, a little bit older, and you want to go on a family vacation outside of Disney World, you want to go um to Europe or Africa or somewhere like that. You can take an adventures by Disney trip where you have cast members are your guides.

SPEAKER_02:

And there's Disney just does everything so and they do these. You can also do it if you wanted to go like out west, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Or like California or New York, like they have international, um, these adventures by Disney um tours where you're not having to worry about where you're gonna stay and where you're gonna eat and what you're gonna do. You can you know go visit amazing places.

SPEAKER_02:

Um being told you need to be here at five o'clock with these shoes on, and you're showing up.

SPEAKER_00:

And you're excited, it's a one price. So your excursion is included, your meals are included, and you're with other families. Um you can plan these trips and talk to Disney. Um, and we can plan where you are on trips where hopefully your ages of your kids line up of families that you don't know so considerate stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01:

When we went to South Africa this summer, we were at a restaurant and there was an Adventures by Disney group at the restaurant we were at. Now, it's because I also did a lot of research and figured out which restaurant they go to.

SPEAKER_02:

That's so good. I was about to ask you how you got there. There it is. Obviously, obviously.

SPEAKER_01:

Did you do that on Instagram or on Google? You know what? Chat GPT. I don't know how I found out. I think I had to do a deep dive into some reviews of where they went. Getting in a sample itinerary. Yes. And so when I made a reservation for us to go, I was really hoping we would see a group. And we did. And I was so jealous. She's like Disney Adventurers in the Wild.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

But they did. They had cast members with them talking, you know, and they really um, I would say, because it was kind of a live performance, all this um, you know, it almost felt like a character meal a little bit. And the way that they were interacting, the people at the restaurant were interacting with the Adventures by Disney group. They they were doing that with all the tables, but you could tell there was another level that they were invested into this group. And I was like, Disney does it right. I know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00:

I think those group travels, especially with your family, are the easiest way. As moms, we have so many logistics that we run through our head. Like you just pack your bags and now we can enjoy it. Right. You get off of an airplane and you are just on a trip, and someone else is in charge of every transfer, every every meal, everything, and it is it is a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01:

That's where it goes from a trip to a vacation. Yes. For for us. Yeah, I agree with you. Absolutely. Okay, so Adventures by Disney.

SPEAKER_00:

And then also Disney is partnered with National Geographic trips and Linblad. So National Geographic, um, their trips are similar to Adventures by Disney, but it's more focused on um photography is a huge part. Uh families that want to go to more obscure.

SPEAKER_02:

There's like a conservation effort too, there, right? Conservation effort more of like Amazon. Right. Not Antarctica, but think Antarctica.

SPEAKER_01:

You said Amazon.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm like Amazon Prime. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

But I was like, no, Amazon. I get it. I get it.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. So families that have and I say families, it could of all ages. Couples, families, of all ages.

SPEAKER_02:

As a note, this would not be the Brannock family. I just want to say I would support my friends that wanted to do this, but if you were to tell the Brannock family we were going to go to the middle of the jungle.

SPEAKER_00:

Like Galapagos Islands to go see all of the Galapagos things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

You could do it.

SPEAKER_00:

We could. You could do it. We could do a lot of things.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

It looked really cool. The picture. Tell me what was the other thing that you just did. Limblad. Yeah, what is that? What's that? They're the ones that go to like Antarctica. They're the ones you're like crossing the drain. What does that stand for? Limblad. I don't know. It's just let me ask. It's just the company.

SPEAKER_01:

Should we go? Just the three of us. L-I-M-B-L-A-D.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Yeah. Lynn. Lynn. L-I-N.

SPEAKER_00:

L-I-N.

SPEAKER_02:

Antarctica cruises.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Y'all they got last-minute ones. That's Galapagos.

SPEAKER_00:

They're smaller ships. And they take you. It's not just Antarctica. It's I can tell you. Go out and see. I just think. Let's let's see that. Wow. Iceland? That's what's connected to the National Geographic.

SPEAKER_02:

Mediterranean, Egypt, Amazon. And these are all bonded by Disney.

SPEAKER_00:

That's where I just is Limblad with National Geographic.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. But that's something that you still can book.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, sorry. Yes. So Disney is Disney has partnered with them. So it's Disney quality stamp of approval, Disney quality.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, which is this is great information. Yeah, this is really good. Because the filter that you have to go through, that's what I want usually is a filter of I I can't tell when I'm doing my own research for a vacation, going somewhere, what um level of quality this is gonna be, you know, and sometimes you get what you pay for. I think a lot of times you get what you pay for.

SPEAKER_02:

But um But sometimes you I think that that to your point, like we went, we just got back from Mexico, as you know. We went to the same resort we went to last year. And last year we booked it because we had a friend who went and he was like, You'll love it, you go, you should go. And we obviously loved it, we wanted to go back, but it was one of those things where we were like, we don't want to take the risk. Like we wanted to go back to Cabo. Right. We didn't want to take the risk of going to another resort that was probably the same price point, but like what if the expect what if they didn't meet that expectation? It is a real thing of when you've hit a Disney does set a very high expectation.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, that is the filter that I want is if Disney says it's good, yes, I'm sold. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. There's an attention to detail, there's it's client focused.

SPEAKER_02:

Um and it's detail on everything. It's detail on the napkin that they put on your bedside table, and then it's detail on the I want to make sure that you have a fifth grader and I have a fifth grader, and we're gonna make sure that y'all's itineraries are, you know, on the same trip or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Though like they pay attention to every detail. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So these National Geographic Limblad cruises are smaller ships. It's very because it's it's combined, National Geographic and Limblad together. It's it's it's just very focused on the environment that you are exploring. Okay. Um so it learned about so many really cool and different adventures that you can be on with Disney and and feel confident in the booking of it, in the in the vacation. And because what our time and our energy is so valuable.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm so sorry that I have to interrupt you. But one of these for the Galapagos trip, it is for 96 guests. The boat carries 96 guests. That is amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

That is, I'll go on that. Yes. Yeah. Hopefully it's Elizabeth and this one. Is a 16 guest catamaran.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Wait, what did you just say? I said, what you really want is uh Elizabeth and 95 senior citizens.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. That's what you want. One 100%. I'm going on a Viking cruise like next tomorrow. Okay. This other one, I'm sorry, holds 16. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know, I know.

SPEAKER_01:

It's been 40. Because of time, I want to ask another another review, and then we'll kind of wrap up and we are going to continue these conversations. Okay. We have lots of um lots of good content for everybody because Emily is going to share a lot of a lot of her um memories with us. I do want to hear about because you've been to Mickey's Not So Scary, and you also went to Oogie Boogie Bash.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. Oogie Boogie Bash was top notch. Um the park, it was sold out. Okay. But the park did not feel crowded. Uh the characters, one thing about not just Oogie Boogie Bash, but Disneyland resort in general, characters are everywhere, just roaming the streets, like interacting with people. Yes, there were there were no like lines to visit uh a character. They were just it, you know how California's just chill. Yeah, that was the vibe of the entire trip. Wow. There are lightning lanes that are done differently. It's like the old school lightning lanes, you don't do it, you just do it once you get in there. Never going back to Disney World. But none of them sold out. There wasn't like this rush, it wasn't the rushed feeling. I wasn't on my phone. It was it was beautiful. So, but oh, Oogie Boogie Night, sorry.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, uh go back to the character thing because what I've never been to Mickey's, not so scary. I am not a big character person unless my kids want to meet a character. Um and I hear these stories about people standing in line for hours during the Halloween party to meet whoever because they never talking about at Disney World. At Disney World. And so at Oogie Boogie Bash, they're just roaming around. There's not long lines to meet some of these characters.

SPEAKER_00:

They're roaming around. They had more of their characters. So it's not so scary to get your candy. You're in like different stations, and as cast members with like uh you know, big baskets handing out the candy. Okay. But Oogie Boogie, I felt like they stationed them more where a character was nearby interacting with guests. So maybe not stopping and taking pictures and getting autographs, but they're interacting as you are going through the line to get your candy. These characters are interacting with you. They're nearby.

SPEAKER_02:

Um now, did you have characters wandering around when you were just walking around the park?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, walking around the park and the resorts, walking like through the grand Grand California.

SPEAKER_02:

Why hasn't Orlando figured that out yet? Like we were the first people to anti-COVID. They were the last people to anti-COVID. I know.

SPEAKER_00:

Is that why we do this? I don't know. I think it's just too many people. I think it's too many people. I think they would be bombarded. Yeah. I never felt uh Disneyland Resort is a very local resort. So in the mornings, it the parks were, as we would call in Disney World, empty. They got busier after 3 p.m. after school and towards the evening. It was like it's almost like Epcot.

SPEAKER_01:

Because Epcot is very much a locals um park where people will come in for the afternoon, evening.

SPEAKER_02:

Um did you stay for the parade? Yes. Was it tell me compare it? The Oogie Boogie? Yeah. Uh I guess I guess what other parade did you stay for?

SPEAKER_00:

The regular parade? There's Paint the Night over at Disneyland, okay. Which is like it's their electrical parade. And that's year-round. And that's it, it was fantastic. Now, currently at Disneyland is the 70th anniversary overlay and Halloween. That's a whole nother we need a Halloween um podcast. That's because talking about the overlays on the rides of the Halloween was. Oh, they like decorate the rides? The Haunted Mansion was Nightmare Before Christmas. And when I tell you it was so well done, it blew my mind. Just hopped in Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion. Nightmare before Christmas overlay. I'm already obsessed. Where did we learn about that?

SPEAKER_01:

Was that Keys of the Kingdom? Yes. We did learn that at Keys of the Kingdom. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00:

I looked at the Disney representatives that we were with and I was like, why don't we have this at Disney World? I know. This is so good. Yeah. I'm shocked that they don't.

SPEAKER_02:

There was a reason why I feel like we learned that in Keys of the Kingdom. Yeah, and I forgot. We should do that again, also. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And then we have too. But Oogie Boogie. So yes, the headless horseman, the the whole the park is smaller. The parks are more approachable. You don't, they don't have the land to be as spread out. Right. So everything is approachable. Everything is walkable. There's no this is not talking about Oogie Boogie and specifically, but there's no stroller collapsing. There, you don't need to ever get on a transportation. There is a monorail, but you don't, I never got on a monorail because everything is walkable.

SPEAKER_01:

Scott Brainick would probably go to Disneyland and enjoy it. He would go if Glass Slipper, if Emily was planning it with Glass Slipper because it he could do club level. Yeah. It would be nice. And he would Yes. Emily, I could sit here and talk to you and listen to you all day. All day.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I love this. I'm coming back, whether you like it or not. Yes, yes. We know your gate code.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Well, I'm going to do one last quick question and then we do have to wrap it up. Okay. I was supposed to do this in the beginning and then I forgot. So if you could live this little icebreaker, it's not an icebreaker anymore. Now it's just a fire. The ice has been broken. The ice has been broken. Okay. Um, if you could live in any Disney resort for a week, which one would you choose? This is rapid fire. I hope you're ready. I mean, Elizabeth. Do you even have to guess?

SPEAKER_02:

Like, do I even have to say it? Fort Wilderness. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01:

In a cabin or in a camper. Oh, I'd do in a camper. In a camper. In a camper. Wow. Probably without my family. By yourself. Yeah. Just live in. Would you have a golf court? Yeah, I can't have a golf cart. And a bike. And a bike.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, Emily. Um, I'm adjacent to Elizabeth at Wilderness Lodge. Wilderness Lodge. Love Wilderness Lodge. Guys are point for meals. Would you be in the cabin on the water?

SPEAKER_02:

Where would you be? Oh, yeah. Oh, Copper Creek. Is that what that's yeah? Those should I like should I edit mine to say that? I've never done it.

SPEAKER_00:

We all know you want to be in a camper. I know. Let's get it real. I've never done it. I look for they were available. I was looking for reservations and they were available one time and I saw it in astronomically priced, but I you never see them even available. So I almost did it. Yes. Next time you see that, just book it. It's$200 to preserve that thing. I will Venmo you immediately. Well, all cram in there. Um, I just like having coffee at Wilderness Lodge. It's it's not there's no traffic. If you're at Wilderness Lodge, it's because you're most likely staying there. It's not a big people, it's not a it's not a destination. No. Oh, I love that place so much. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I did uh mention to another family who stayed at the cabins. Um, I said, listen, you're gonna stay there and you're gonna be amazed at the noise level staying in a cabin because it's zero. You're not getting woken up in the middle of the night. Are you talking about Fort Wilderness? Um or are you talking about wilderness lodge cabins? I've never stayed at the wilderness lodge cabins. Okay. Fort Wilderness, yes. Those cabins, because you know, you're always hearing stuff in the middle of the night, obviously, because everybody's coming to and from at different times um at Disney, especially. So when you're in a hotel, it doesn't matter where you are. It could be at the Grand Floridine, it could be at any deluxe, you kind of will wake up in the middle of the night because there's people walking down the hall. The quiet and a cabin is just it's so good. It's so perfect. Um, I still would probably pick the Polynesian. I know.

SPEAKER_02:

If I'm gonna be in there, we should have guessed. We should have kind of guessed where you would have picked.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I mean, I love that place so much. And I would be at Trader Sam's every night. Um I can't help it. Um, okay, you guys, this is so much fun. I'm glad we're back. We are back. I know.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank y'all so much for having me.

SPEAKER_02:

This is bringing the kickies.

SPEAKER_01:

I know. I'm just laid out right now on this mountain with a planner. I just need everybody to know. All right. Well, thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of I've changed the name. It's Parkside Breaks. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01:

Wait, what did you just call it?

SPEAKER_02:

Parkside Breaks. Parkside Breaks. Yes. So not even what I was thinking. What did you think it was? Park breakers. I could have done that too. Just so everybody knows, if Sarah told me something, you could tell me something 500 times, and I'm still gonna hear it a totally different way. Just the way that she I am actually everyone's husband, in case anyone wanted to know. I am everyone's husband. Yes. I love it. Parkside breaks. What a great parkside breaks.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, you know, Tiki Room, it was for just the podcast, and I'm gonna start, you guys, I think bigger. I think I'm gonna bring a blog back. I wrote a blog when I was, it was like circa 2010, 2011. I was like, I think I'm gonna bring a blog back and start writing some stuff. You could bring a vlog. Vlog. Let's not get carried away now. Okay. I'm here for it. I know. Can we take the vlog to Disneyland for us? You can do it. Yes, we'll participate just for you. I'll be filming you. Yes. All right. Well, thanks for listening to this week's episode. We will be back when we're back. Honestly, I'm not making any promises. We'll be back when we're back for next time. All right. Love you bye.