WHERE ARE YOU GOING IN 2023?

Posted on by Kenneth Reece, Agent of Modern Travel Professionals

Happy New Year!  I hope you had an amazing holiday season, and will have an incredible 2023!  I started the holidays off with a bit of Covid-19.  I tested positive on Monday Dec. 19, and immediately called my doctor.  She put me on meds and I was testing negative by Dec. 23, but still feel pretty bad.  Mainly coughing, sleeplessness and just generally weak.  I saw the doctor again yesterday, she gave me a new set of prescriptions and hopefully this will get me feeling better!  (if not, I have to have chest x-rays on Friday to make sure it’s not turning into pneumonia!)  I woke up today feeling a lot better, but I’m still kind of slow.  Hopefully I’ll be better very soon!  

Between resting & helping clients, I’m currently finishing up my personal travel planning for the upcoming year, and have some incredible adventures to look forward to!  I I started my #YearOfAdventure on Dec. 1, 2022 at Aulani, the Disney resort on the western shores of Oahu, Hawaii.  And, what an incredible place for a vacation!  Aulani has to be my absolute favorite Disney resort that I’ve visited (and I’ve visited every Disney resort in North America & France). 

After Aulani, I spent 5 amazing days in Anaheim reacquainting myself with my absolute favorite theme park, Disneyland.  If you’ve never been to Disneyland, I am here to say that you are missing out.  Disneyland is charming, nostalgic, fun, exciting and EASY.  It’s a world of difference visiting Disneyland when compared to Walt Disney World.  There is so much to do at the Disneyland Resort that you have to spend 3 or 4 days visiting their two parks.  From Spiderman to Radiator Springs to the Matterhorn…visiting Disneyland Resort is definitely a different Disney vacation than Disney World.  If you’re a Disney fan, you have to visit Walt’s original park.  Disneyland is the only Disney park that Walt ever visited, and every time I walk down Main Street, I think of him and all of his dreams that he was able to make come true.   

After Disneyland, I traveled north to Hollywood for a few days and toured the Warner Bros. Studio & visited Universal Studios Hollywood.  I haven’t been to Universal Hollywood since 1984, and let me tell you that park has grown a lot since my last visit!  I stayed at the very charming Garland Hotel in Hollywood, and I can’t wait to send clients there when they visit the Hollywood area.  And, for just a bit of television history, The Garland is located just a couple of blocks away from the “Brady Bunch” house.  They used this home for filming the exterior shots for this famous tv show.

In January, my plans are to visit the All-Inclusive Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos.  I’ve been to the Beaches in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, but never to their resort here.  I’ll be hanging out with a couple of my travel agent friends from Modern Travel Professionals, and we’ll be touring the resort, which features five magnificent villages boasting the architecture and ambiance of Italy, France, the Caribbean and Key West.; their 21 restaurants, a 12-mile beach that has clear turquoise water and 10 pools.  I’ve heard that the snorkeling at this resort is amazing, and I can’t wait to experience this first-hand!   Be sure to be following along on my #YearOfAdventure here.

Now that we are at the beginning of “Wave Season”, it is the perfect time to get YOUR 2023 vacation booked. (I’m also already booking some destinations for 2024!)  If you don’t know what “Wave Season” is, it’s the time when almost 80% of all trips for the year are booked.  Wave Season begins in January and usually ends in March.  Originally, the cruise lines spotted this trend and started offering their best deals of the year during these first three months.  It generated a “wave” of new bookings and the term Wave Season was coined.  Soon, other travel folks caught on and resorts, tour companies, and theme parks also started offering amazing deals during this time.

Now, Wave Season means industry-wide discounts and special offers beginning in January and continuing through the end of March.  The offers made during this time are truly some of the best we see all year long. 

As with all discounts and offers, availability will be limited, so you’ll want to start considering your vacation plans now.  That way, you will be ready to jump on these great deals.

Need some ideas?  Shoot me a message and let’s chat!  Whether you want to cruise, visit a theme park, take a guided land tour or visit an All-Inclusive Resort, I’ll search out the best value for your vacation.

TTFN
Kenneth

Published by Kenneth Reece, Agent of Modern Travel Professionals

Hi! My name is Kenneth Reece, a native from Stockbridge, Georgia. I am a travel agent for Modern Travel Professionals. I opened Enchanted Gardens Florist & Gifts in 1986--when I was just 19. My love affair with Disney started in 1998 when I added Walt Disney collectibles to my merchandise displays. When I started to learn about the rich history of The Walt Disney Company, (which is required to successfully sell Walt Disney Animation Art) is when my store came alive. I've enjoyed hosting Disney Artists, Sculptors & Imagineers for in-store signing events, and was thrilled to tour the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank a few times as a guest of the company. One of my fondest Disney memories is that of holding one of Walt Disney's personal Academy Awards while visiting the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, CA. As my love of Disney grew, I began planning trips to Disney for my clients at my store, which grew into a new career! After a few years of both running my retail store and planning travel, I closed my brick & mortar store, moved to Vero Beach, Fl where I've been planning travel full-time now for over five years. Vero Beach has small-town charm with world-class luxury. It's an incredible place to live. I help take care of my parents here, and travel extensively with them. Together, we visit Disneyland and The Walt Disney World Resort often. I've planned tours in England, Scotland, Paris, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, & France including Disneyland Paris. Living in Vero Beach, where retirees seem to outnumber all other age groups, I've become an expert on helping people travel who are "young at heart". Living a short road trip away from the Orlando area, I visit the theme parks at Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando & Sea World often. Many times I'm there once a week! I've stayed at every Disney Resort in North America, toured every hotel at the Universal Resort, and have taken over 25 cruises, being a Platinum Castaway Cay member with Disney Cruise Line. I've cruised to the Caribbean, The Bahamas, Alaska, the Panama Canal, Trans-Atlantic (East & Westbound), Mediterranean & Northern Europe. Also, if you need restaurant recommendations, I've personally ate at most of the restaurants at the Walt Disney World Resort & at the Disneyland Resort in Southern California. Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is my favorite Walt Disney World Resort, and Disney's Grand Californian Resort & Spa is my favorite resort at Disneyland. I've attended various events at Walt Disney World such as: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, Star Wars Weekends, Disneyana Conventions, EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival, The Flower & Garden Festival and the new Festival of Arts. Contact me for personalized, concierge-level service. I'll help you as much (or as little) as you like, whatever your needs. I want to provide you with a worry free, incredible vacation, with memories that will last a life time.