I’m Making A Little Magic

As 2021 gets under way I have a bit of good news for folks who aren’t big Disney fans and some great news for folks who are big Disney fans.  I’ve been working on a project for what seems like forever.  A pandemic has a way of stretching time like nothing I’ve ever experienced.  We’re just about ready to launch that project and I wanted to give you guys a sneak peek.  For those of you who don’t like Disney and would rather I didn’t write about it…..good news!  The amount of Disney content here should decrease going forward.

Introducing Disney Park Magic

As many of you know, our family loves all things Disney.  I’ve written about our Disney adventures on these pages over the years.  Along the way, I’ve had some folks comment that they’d prefer less Disney content, while others rejoiced when I wrote about theme parks. One of the projects that’s been taking up my time lately is the launch of a new website focused on all things Disney.  If you’d prefer to skip my speech about what we’re trying to accomplish, you can find the new Disney Park Magic site here.  We’re still working out some kinks, so please feel free to let me know if you see anything amiss.  For those that want to know more, here’s what the site’s homepage looks like, along with a brief description of what we’re planning.

As I mentioned in my welcome article on Disney Park Magic, this is a culmination of months of planning a website dedicated to Disney and other theme parks.  You might wonder why I’m starting a Disney website.  After all, there are so many of them.  And, there are plenty of great ones.  Why is Disney Park Magic different?

Well, I took some inspiration from the structure for BoardingArea, a platform dedicated to a variety of voices talking essentially about the same thing, travel.  Sure, we all go off in different directions, whether it’s credit cards, gold coins from the US Mint or the debate between luxury travel to the Maldives or a family road trip to the Jersey Shore.  We all share a love of travel.

The goal of Disney Park Magic will be to talk about the magic of theme parks from different view points.  My plan is to find the best voices in each of our verticals and amplify their knowledge and opinion. We’ll be recruiting multiple voices to bring unique views on all things Disney.

We’re starting out small, with two authors.  I’ll be heading up the Dads vertical.  I plan a mix of content, including how-to stories and strategies for how to save money and maximize your time at Disney theme parks around the world.  I’ve notched three Disney theme parks (both of the US parks as well as Disneyland Paris) and have plans to make it to Asia when I consider it safe to do so.  And, because it’s me, I’ll be sharing my opinion on changes at the parks.  I expect there to be plenty of those to come.  I won’t be the only dad bringing content to the site, either.  We have some other dads scheduled to launch in the future.

Heading up the Pride vertical will be Mike LaRosa.  Mike is a friend who writes the Coworkaholic blog on BoardingArea.  He’s also a full-on Disney nerd like me.  And, he recently moved to Orlando. That means Mike will be providing us with plenty of insight on a variety of topics like only a local can.

Along the way, we’ll be adding more great authors to the Dad and Pride vertical.  We also plan to introduce some other areas of focus.  Those include Disney for moms, written by moms.  We’ll also have content focused on how to do Disney as an adult without kids (a growing part of park attendees).  And, we plan to recruit a few kids and teens to talk about Disney for the younger crowd.

The Final Two Pennies

I’m pretty excited to kick off the new project.  I was pretty cautious terrified of having kids, figuring out how I would be a good dad.  A few years after our daughter was born I happened to be at a conference of fellow frequent flyer nerds.  As I walked from the lunch room back to the seminars, I stopped to talk to a friend.  He was at a booth with a big picture of Mickey Mouse.  My mind wandered back to a family memory of a Disney World trip when I was much younger.  Mickey apparently made a big impression on me, because these great memories came rushing back.

That was the first time I recall thinking about a Disney World trip with my daughter.  She was about four years old at the time.  It’s a surprise to nobody here who pays attention, but that first Disney trip started out as a potential way to score free Disney trips in the future.  A friend was teaching me how to maximize Disney’s timeshare program, Disney Vacation Club.  Setting out on that first trip, I thought I would go to Disney “for my daughter”.  I was so wrong, and yet right at the same time.

That first trip was so magical.  We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge with our extended family.  Our daughter woke up to giraffes grazing outside our hotel window.  And, that first day we headed to the parks, we met someone who became a lifelong friend.  We didn’t know that first day our VIP guide hopped out of her van that she’d become an extension of our family.  As our family wove their way through the parks, there were disappointing moments (remind me to tell you the one about our daughter screaming at the top of her lungs in Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique). But, there were magical moments.  Seeing our daughter’s amazement at meeting a princess is something I won’t forget.  Nor can I forget the evil step sisters fighting over which one would get to marry our unborn son hanging out in mom’s belly.  We were hooked!

Disney is a special place for our family and for so many others.  Disney Park Magic is a passion project for me, just like Pizza in Motion.  I’m looking forward to writing more on both sites in the future.

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And, I hope you’ll check out my podcast, Miles To Go.  We cover the latest travel news, tips and tricks every week so you can save money while you travel better.  From Disney to Dubai, San Francisco to Sydney, American Airlines to WestJet, we’ve got you covered!