Arizona Travel Agent
by Anne Larison, co-owner familytravelgurus.com/Larison Travel
They are not easy to pronounce, but a joy to visit! I’m referring to the cities of Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo located on the Pacific coast of Mexico.
by Tim Larison, co-owner familytravelgurus.com/Larison Travel
This September I visited Talkeetna, Alaska for two days. Talkeetna, on the edge of Denali National Park, gave me a wonderful Alaska experience.
We came across this amusing video today from Disney featuring Darth Vader at Disneyland. Disney owns the Star Wars franchise (just announced this week). We are big Star Wars fans, and we look forward to what the creative minds at Disney can do with the series when a new Star Wars film comes out in 2015!
Tim recently chatted with Michelle Van Deusen from Royal Caribbean about the latest news with that cruise line.
We recently talked to Alicia Steuart about the latest developments with Carnival Cruise Line:
Family Travel Gurus: The Carnival Breeze just came out this summer and the Carnival Sunshine has its inaugural cruise in April 2013. What are some of the new features of these new ships and what itineraries will they be sailing?
by Phyllis Larison, Family Travel Gurus Travel Consultant
Disney’s California Adventure has many popular attractions, including the newly opened Cars Land, but an area of the park that has smaller crowds and great entertainment is Hollywood Land. The Disney Animation Building on Hollywood Boulevard features wonderful interactive exhibits about the Disney animation process. As you enter the building you are surrounded by huge screens featuring film clips from classic Disney movies. The three big attractions in the building are the Animation Academy, Sorcerer’s Workshop and Turtle Talk with Crush. At the Animation Academy a Disney cartoonist works with you to draw a Disney character (kids are incredibly good at this!). Turtle Talk with Crush is simply amazing! Crush, the animated sea turtle from the film Finding Nemo, answers questions from kids in the audience and tells jokes; the character seems very real and children love this show. The Sorcerer’s Workshop focuses on animation special effects. There are a couple of live shows in Hollywood Land that are definitely worth seeing. Aladdin–A Musical Spectacular plays at the large Hyperion Theater. The lavish costumes, fantastic effects and pageantry in this show are of Broadway caliber. Disney Junior–Live On Stage is great fun for younger kids who can sing and dance along with popular Disney characters. Other attractions in Hollywood Land are Muppet Vision 3-D with live Muppet characters sitting in on the 3D film; Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue, an imaginative ride through Monstropolis; and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror where you can take a thrilling and spooky elevator ride through a haunted hotel. While you are in Hollywood Land, don’t miss the afternoon Pixar Play Parade which has all of the best Pixar movie characters on floats with music, dancing and entertaining special effects such as flames shooting from the head of Jack-Jack, the baby with super powers in The Incredibles .
Thanks to our client Scott from Missouri for sharing this photo with us.
“The picture was taken July 3rd 2012 on the 5-night Bahamas cruise on the Disney Dream. Cruise overall was great – first time on the new ship, and we appreciated the room upgrades. Everything was shiny and new, and the entertainment was probably the best we’ve ever had. The cast members we came in contact with were fantastic – shoot, we even got good table partners! The seas were so calm it was boring – this picture was of almost calm seas, which we had almost the whole trip. 2 Castaway Cay days were wonderful – we’ve done that before, and we far prefer that to Key West. All in all, it was a near-perfect cruise vacation!”
by Phyllis Larison, Family Travel Gurus Travel Consultant
Universal Studios Hollywood is a great place to bring the family and enjoy a day surrounded by all of the action and fun of Hollywood movies. On a recent visit I was impressed by the variety and quality of entertainment, the fast moving lines (in contrast to other theme parks) and the beautiful location of the park, overlooking Hollywood.
Thanks to our client Tammy from Kentucky for sharing these pictures of her visit to the Tulum Mayan Ruins in Mexico. She visited with her son on a shore excursion from a Carnival Dream cruise.
Disneyland’s California Adventure Theme Park a new ‘land’ recently opened to the public – Cars Land on June 15, 2012. Family Travel Gurus co-owner Anne Larison was fortunate to visit Cars Land the day before it opened to the public. “Fans of the Disney movie Cars will be thrilled with the theme of the rides, restaurants and merchandise options,” said Anne. “I had a blast and can’t wait to take my family to California to see for themselves.”